Damaging Winds
by KaitouKiwi
Summary: This is the sequel to Shifting Winds. It has been four months since the events that transpired in the City of Ouroboros and Laurie is beginning to adjust to her life as a ninja. With some help she is starting to gain an understanding of her powers and how to master them. When a new danger arises and threatens the Garmadon siblings will the Ninja be able to save the day? KaiXOC.
1. Wake-Up Call

**Hello everyone, this is Kiwi. I am back with my sequel to Shifting Winds, so if you're reading this and haven't read that yet you should probably go check that out. You don't have to if you don't want to, but you will be completely and utterly confused. Just a fair warning. :)**

**So this first chapter is really short. I'm kind of testing the waters with it. I have a vague, major plot planned out, but I wanted to see how this went over with everyone before I really started to continue the story. I do not own any characters in Ninjago or Ninjago itself, however I do own Laurie and this new OC who...well you'll see a little later. Please, enjoy.**

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Chapter One: Wake-Up Call

"Wake up or else you're going to be late for training." A small boy dressed in green was practically jumping up and down at the foot of the bed where a girl lay. She groaned, pulling the covers over her fiery red hair. Lloyd frowned, jumping off of the bed. "Suit yourself. Kai made breakfast special, just for you" he smirked, leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the room.

Laurie shot out from under the covers, her cheeks blushing. "I'm up!" she gasped, looking around the room. Her eyes rested on her brother, her face falling. "No one else is here except us" she growled, burying her face into her pillow. Lloyd was constantly teasing Laurie about her growing relationship with the red ninja, but he seemed to ignore the fact that she had saved him from becoming a Serpentine only four months before. Sighing, Laurie sat up and threw her legs over the side of the bed. "I'm up" she repeated, lifelessly.

"Everyone _was_ here earlier and Kai _did_ make breakfast, but you slept through it" Lloyd shrugged. "It's time for training and we have to go down to Dareth's Dojo". The green ninja left through the main apartment door. "Oh and take a shower before you come" he smirked, poking his head back around the door frame. "We don't want to catch your cooties!"

"Get out!" Laurie shouted, throwing her pillow at her brother. It hit the wall and knocked over a Ming vase that was sitting on a low lying shelf. The piece of pottery shattered on the ground. "Great" she said sarcastically, crossing the room to pick up the pillow, "Sensei is going to kill me when he sees this". Frustrated, the girl left the shards of blue and white glazed clay on the floor as she went to change into her orange shinobi shozoko, the traditional uniform of the ninja.

"Ugh, I wish Lloyd would have woken me up earlier" she growled, tying her long hair back in a sloppy ponytail. With quick work, she pulled on her mask and grabbed the wooden bō staff that hung on the wall above her bed. Going through a quick mental checklist, the ninja bolted for the door, shutting it tight behind her. She did not notice the clay pot that sat back on the shelf that it had fallen from, completely fixed.

A girl materialized on the orange ninja's bed, her long lavender hair thrown over her right shoulder. She smiled wickedly, showing two pointed fangs, and traced patterns on the bed spread with a thin finger. "Laurie Garmadon" she snickered, her indigo eyes resting on the vase she had fixed, "I am going to make your life a living hell". The girl disappeared, leaving a slight indent on the orange ninja's bed spread.

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**I just now figured out how to use the horizontal lines, so I'm going to use them now. XD**

**Who could this mysterious girl be and why does she have it out for Laurie? Please R&R to tell me what you guys think. I'm actually kind of discouraged to write this because I don't know if anyone will like it or not.**


	2. Disputes

**Alright, I already have a few chapters typed up for this thing, so I guess I'll update once more. Thanks to everyone who reviewed because it really helped. This is a longer chapter, so please enjoy. :)**

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Chapter Two: Disputes

"Are you ready to try this?" Kai asked, leaning back against the door to the dojo.

Laurie bit her bottom lip. "I-I don't know about this Kai" she hesitated, looking extremely apprehensive. "What if something bad happens?"

The red ninja gave a smile and shook his head. "You'll never be able to control your powers if you don't practice. All the mental training was just to prepare you for this moment. I believe in you, Laurie".

The orange ninja took in a deep breath. She had been going through rigorous mental training with Zane over the past few months in order to control her emotions and thoughts. These factors seemed to influence her control over the wind, which she had not attempted to do since she had killed Kai back in Ouroboros. "I guess you're right" she answered, now lightly chewing the inside of her cheek.

A knock sounded from one of the many windows that adorned the front of Dareth's Dojo. Laurie held her hand over her eyes, blocking out the sun. She could make out Jay, the blue ninja, waving excitedly. "We all wish you good luck!" he called, his voice muffled from the thick glass. "We'll stay inside here though so we won't die!" Cole approached Jay from behind, punching him in the shoulder before dragging him away from the window.

"Ignore him" Kai said through clenched teeth. "You just need to focus on staying calm while you're trying out your Spinjitzu".

"Okay" Laurie exhaled. "Let's do this". She closed her eyes, holding her bō staff in her right hand. Spinning around, she shifted her body weight in the opposite direction of her bō staff, increasing the centripetal force of the rotation. Slowly she was encased within a miniature tornado, the wind whipping up around her. "Remember to stay calm" she whispered to herself, "focus."

_You are doing excellent_. It had been a while since Laurie had heard the voice of the wind, finally praising her instead of ordering her around. _This is what Spinjitzu is supposed to look like._

"Until you kill your boyfriend" whispered a voice with a hint of malice.

"What?" spat Laurie, opening her eyes. The wind around her began to pick up. "Who said that?"

A pair of indigo irises stared at her. "You won't be able to control your powers. You'll just kill your boyfriend again."

"Who are you?" Laurie choked. She could feel the air leaving her lungs. The tornado around her was quickly becoming a vacuum. Laurie coughed and sputtered, falling to her knees when something knocked her back on the ground. The wind stopped and she saw Kai looking down at her.

"Laurie, what happened?" he asked, helping her to her feet. "You were doing so well and then…" the red ninja could not finish his sentence. "Maybe you'll do better with some more training."

"Kai, I was doing fine!" Laurie argued, picking up her bō staff. "The training really helped me; you just said that I was doing well!" She pushed past the red ninja, heading towards the entrance to the dojo. "I just lost focus for a second. There was someone talking to me" she sighed, stopping with her hand on the door handle.

"It was probably just the wind, right?" Kai said condescendingly. "You've told me before that the wind can communicate with you. It's all just part of your powers." He placed a gloved hand on the girl's shoulder. "I thought you might have been used to that by now. I mean, you _have _been training for a good while now. You're not a novice, Laurie".

The way Kai was speaking to her reminded Laurie of how her father, Lord Garmadon, had spoken to her when she was younger: slow and careful as if she were completely unstable and stupid. "Look" she growled, turning around and shrugging his hand off of her shoulder. "I told you that _someone_ was talking to me. Wind is a _thing_ not a _person_." Laurie turned back to the door and went inside the dojo, holding the door closed once she had entered.

"Laurie, open the door" Kai frowned, narrowing his eyes. He watched as the person he cared about most stuck her tongue out at him, both hands pulling on the door handle, preventing him from entering. Angry, he banged both fists on the glass door. "You are acting like a child, Laurie!"

She could feel the blood in her veins boiling. "Oh _I'm _acting like a child?" she yelled, throwing the door open. "_You're_ acting like a child by having to be right! You don't think I know what I heard? I know what the wind sounds like and this was _not_ the wind!"

Kai stepped into Dareth's Dojo, his eyes locked on Laurie's. "You can't just accept the fact that you need more mental training. How do you expect to reach your full potential and protect your brother if you don't want to train?"

"This is ridiculous" Laurie said rubbing her temples and turning away from the red ninja. "I don't have to listen to this." She took in a deep breath and sat down on the nearest tatami mat, ignoring the stares from the other ninja. When Kai sat down across from her she felt her blood begin to boil. "Someone was out there, Kai" she explained. "They had purplish-blue eyes. I just want you to believe me".

"How did your Spinjitzu go, Laurie?" Zane asked, smiling. "I hope that the training we completed was most helpful."

"You two will have to do some more training soon" Kai commented, crossing his arms. "Laurie can't seem to keep her focus. She could have killed herself if I hadn't stepped in."

"Oh, that's it!" Laurie growled, standing up. "I'm not gonna take this from you anymore. If anyone needs me I'll be at the apartment!" She stormed out of the dojo, slamming the door behind her.

"Wow, she seems a little bit touchy" Jay noted, leaning back on his hands. "So how hard did you knock her to the ground anyways?"

"I did that to _save_ her, Jay" Kai stated. "Laurie was creating a vacuum with the wind again. She could have suffocated from a lack of oxygen." He thought back to the day he had entered the large vacuum Laurie had created after thinking she had failed in saving Lloyd from the Fangpyre bite. Death was not the best feeling in the world. Shuddering from the memories, Kai kept quiet.

"That was quite the squabble" Zane commented, his smile turning into a frown. "What was Laurie saying about 'someone with purplish-blue eyes'?"

"It's nothing" sighed Kai. "Laurie is just under a lot of stress trying to control her powers and become the best guardian for Lloyd."

"You should not doubt such things, Kai" Zane warned. "Perhaps Laurie was telling the truth." The white ninja rose and disappeared through the beads that hung in the doorway of Dareth's office.

"Whatever" Kai said to himself. "There was no way Laurie saw someone."

"What makes you so sure?" asked Cole, his bushy eyebrows knit.

"Cole, I tackled the girl to the ground. I think if someone was there I would have seen them" Kai rebutted, smirking.

"He _does _have a point, Cole" Jay added, shrugging. "By the way, has anyone seen Lloyd?"

"I think he went down to Ninjago Park with Sensei" answered Cole, his eyes narrowed. He did not appreciate Kai being so unfair to Laurie. "Sensei wanted a one-on-one session with him. We should get back to training, guys."

Kai stood up, leaning back to stretch. "I don't know about training now. We've been so focused on training Lloyd _and_ Laurie that I've kind of lost the will to train myself." He looked at the team leader with one eye. "Don't tell me you haven't felt the same".

The black ninja's lip curled. "I haven't actually" he countered. "Kai, it seems like you're getting a little too big for your britches. Just because we've reached our full potential doesn't mean we don't have to practice and hone our skills anymore."

"Yeah" Jay said. "We _always_ have to train, Kai". He stood and gazed at the red ninja. "If you don't feel like training then maybe you should go back to the apartment."

"Fine, I will" Kai spat before marching out of the dojo and turning down the street, leaving his friends wondering what was wrong with him.

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**When I was writing this chapter I was actually really sad because I didn't want Laurie and Kai to fight, but I felt it was the only thing I could do for the story development and relationship development. I just thought it was weird that I was sad an imaginary couple was getting into a tussle. XD**

**And, sorry that I'm about to nag, if you want to and haven't checked out the poll on my profile I would really appreciate it if you did. I'm developing a new character for this series that will be introduced in the next installment, but I can't decide on a name for her. Can you help me? :)  
**


	3. Home Invasion

**Finally out of Biology Lab. Time for an update and a proper introduction of my new OC. And if you haven't guessed yet she's not the nicest person in the world. XD**

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Chapter Three: Home Invasion

Laurie slammed the door shut behind her as she entered the one room, one half bath apartment. With a set jaw, the girl flung her weapon underneath the bed and listened as it rolled across the wooden floor. Flopping onto her bed, she pulled her pillow close and cried out in frustration. She was extremely glad that she was the only one currently in the home. A few minutes later she rolled onto her back, hugging the pillow to her chest before taking her mask off. The cool air conditioning hit her skin and she let out a sigh. It was horribly stupid of her to get into an argument over disembodied eyes. She was just frustrated that he did not believe that she had, indeed, seen something if not someone. "I love you, Kai" Laurie said to the ceiling, "I just wish you had more faith in me."

"Poor Laurie Garmadon" taunted a familiar voice. "You messed up your Spinjitzu. At least this time you didn't kill your boyfriend".

The girl sat up quickly, pillow still to her chest. She immediately recognized the voice from earlier, outside of the dojo. "Who are you?" Laurie asked firmly, scanning the room for someone. The apartment was not big and there was no sign of any intruder. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and she jumped off of the bed, backing into the wall on the opposite side of the room.

A girl materialized where Laurie had just been sitting, her indigo eyes full of malice. She had an olive skin tone and long lavender colored hair. The tank top and skirt that adorned her body were as black as night, but seemed to constantly move as if they were made of smoke. Her bare feet were crossed at the ankle as she draped her legs over the bed. "Who am I?" she hissed, revealing fangs. "I am Belinda."

"That's awesome" Laurie said sarcastically, clinging on to her pillow tightly. She wished she had not thrown her bō staff underneath the bed when she first came in. Without her weapon, the orange ninja felt powerless. "Too bad that name means absolutely nothing to me."

"I wouldn't expect you to know who I am" Belinda whispered into the girl's right ear. Laurie jumped, skittering off to the left. She had not seen Belinda move, but there she was, standing right next to her. "Not many people remember me now. I haven't been back to Ninjago in a while, but it's nicer now than I remember."

"W-when was the last time you were here?" gulped Laurie, backing into a corner. She felt trapped, knowing there were not many options of escape now.

"The last time I was in Ninjago was before the Serpentine had been sealed in their separate tombs" Belinda smiled. She stayed where she was to Laurie's surprise. The red-head was certain that she would have advanced. "After my followers had disappeared I went to the Underworld, not knowing that I wouldn't be able to return."

"Before the Serpentine were sealed away?" Laurie gawked. "That would mean you'd have to be hundreds of years old."

"When you're an immortal goddess, you don't count years" Belinda sneered.

Laurie's eyes grew wide with fear. A deity that had been worshiped by the Serpentine stood before her. "What do you want with me?" she squeaked, holding her pillow up so that only her eyes were visible.

"Your father summoned me from the Underworld to fetch you, but I think I'm going to have a little more fun than just playing the delivery girl."

Footfall was audible from outside the front door. "Someone's here" Laurie whispered, her heart beating fast. Maybe whoever it was could help her out of this predicament. Belinda turned her attention towards the door, snapping her fingers. Laurie heard the lock click and her heart sank once more.

"Laurie, open up!" Kai called through the wooden door. Both girls could hear him shaking the doorknob furiously. "You're not the only one that lives here you know. It's not fair to keep everyone else out!"

"Sounds like your boyfriend" the goddess smiled wickedly.

Narrowing her eyes and throwing the pillow to the ground, Laurie leapt out from the corner, her socks sliding on the wooden floor. "Kai, help!" she called out, trying to make it to the door.

"Freeze" Belinda hissed, holding her hand out, the palm facing Laurie.

The orange ninja stopped mid-stride, every muscle in her body completely immobile. Her heart was beating painfully against her chest, the only indication that she was actually still alive. The goddess walked into Laurie's line of sight, a crooked smile playing at the edge of her lips. "You don't know who you're dealing with, Laurie Garmadon" she sneered. "I'm the most powerful Serpentine deity. Every tribe scrambled for sacrifices in ancient times to appease me because I am the embodiment of chaos."

"Laurie, I'm coming!" Kai cried, genuinely concerned. The lock clicked as the door knob turned.

Leering, Belinda faded from sight. "Until next time, Laurie Garmadon" she hissed, her voice dissipating slowly. Laurie fell forward, gasping for air, as Kai burst into the apartment.

"Are you okay, Laurie?" questioned Kai, kneeling down next to the girl. "What happened?"

"I was attacked" Laurie managed to say between breaths. "My father summoned a Serpentine deity to bring me back to him." Despite her better judgment, she leaned up, throwing her arms around the red ninja. "I'm so glad you came, Kai" she cried, her face buried in his shoulder. "I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't shown up".

Kai tangled his fingers in Laurie's bright red hair and hugged her close. "It's going to be okay" he told her, closing his eyes. He could feel her heart beat next to his and he blushed. "A Serpentine deity?" he asked.

Laurie pulled away from Kai, looking at his light brown eyes. "Yeah" she nodded. "I'd never heard of such a thing, but it's real. She locked the door by just snapping and when I tried to get to you, she stopped me. I couldn't move at all."

The red ninja looked into Laurie's ice blue eyes, still wide and full of terror. "I believe you" he breathed, placing both of his hands on her shoulders. "Was she the same person you saw earlier today?"

Nodding, Laurie made her way over to her bed, burying her head in her hands. "I don't feel safe, Kai" she confessed, sighing. "Belinda can just appear out of thin air. She just, I don't know, faded away right when you were coming in." The girl brought her knees up to her chest, hugging them tightly. "She could come back at any time."

"Belinda" Kai asked, taking a seat next to Laurie, "is that the deity's name?"

"Yeah, it is."

The red ninja stared ahead at the wall, his focus on protecting the girl he loved. "An alarm system probably won't work against someone who can materialize into a room" he said to himself, thinking. Kai had not seen Laurie this terrified before, even when she thought she had failed in administering the Fangpyre anti-venom to her brother. No, whoever this "Belinda" was definitely existed and was sent to take Laurie back to her father. "I guess I'll just have to stay by your side until the guys and I can figure out what to do."

Laurie smiled weakly, her cheeks wet with tears. "Thank you, Kai" she sniffed, giving him another hug.

"I feel that it's my duty to protect you" he replied, laughing.

"No" Laurie whispered, embracing him tighter. "Thank you for _believing_ me".

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**I love writing cute stuff like making up after a fight. :3**

**So I'm just throwing this out there because my friends have asked me about Belinda's "weird name". It literally translates to "beautiful serpent" in Latin. I figured that was pretty cool and I actually based her design off of another evil OC I had when I was really into Maximum Ride. I think it's funny how my OCs can evolve. XD**

**Thanks for everyone reading and reviewing. You guys are awesome! :D**


	4. Planning

**Oh my goodness. I'm updating know because I'm probably not going to see my laptop again until Ninjago tonight. Hopefully I actually get to watch Ninjago. Today is just a randomly busy day. :/**

**And apparently I don't like writing "Chapter Four"s for stories because this one is kind of reminiscent of "Family Reunion" from my last story. XD**

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Chapter Four: Planning

"You expect me to believe that a Serpentine deity attacked Laurie in the apartment today?" Jay sat at the dining room table, his scarred eyebrow arched in disbelief. "It seems a little farfetched, Kai" the blue ninja continued, crossing his arms. "I'm sure Laurie was just having a bad dream or something."

"I did not know that the Serpentine worshiped anything" Zane remarked, puzzled. "It seems strange that they actually held some form of religion".

"It may seem weird or whatever, but _you_ didn't see her face after it happened" growled Kai, aiming the conversation back towards Jay. "Laurie was absolutely terrified. I've never seen her that scared before." He sighed, looking back towards the bed where the girl slept. It had been hours since she was attacked and, as promised, the red ninja had not left her side.

"I believe her too" Cole added, shrugging. "There's no reason not to trust Laurie and this whole situation sounds like something Lord Garmadon would pull."

"But a Serpentine deity" Jay stressed, still unimpressed. "How would Garmadon even summon something like that?"

"Laurie was telling me that Belinda came from the Underworld. Maybe Lord Garmadon created a portal to the Underworld with the Mega Weapon" argued Kai, a smug grin spreading across his face.

"I have just run this theory through my database and it is the most plausible explanation" Zane smiled, closing the compartment on his left arm. "Perhaps some research needs to be done on this 'Belinda'. I volunteer to be the one who does it".

"That's a great idea, Zane" the black ninja chuckled, leaning back slightly in his chair. "I'm just glad to see the love birds actually getting along again."

Kai sighed. "I just wish it wasn't under these extreme circumstances." He directed his attention back to his friends. "Jay, I don't care if you think this entire thing is a joke or not. I'm going to need your help protecting Laurie from this goddess."

"Fine" the blue ninja sighed, "but only because everyone else is in on it too."

"In on what?" asked a small voice entering the apartment. Lloyd looked absolutely exhausted, Sensei Wu walking in behind him. Without even a glance at his sister, the green ninja went and sat on his bed.

"Nothing, buddy" grinned Cole. The four ninja had agreed to keep the youngest Garmadon out of the loop. Lloyd's need to protect his older sister was what caused him to be bitten by Fangtom back in Ouroboros. "You seem exhausted. How was your training?"

"It was great" Lloyd yawned. "Sensei was teaching me how to concentrate on inanimate objects to move them." With heavy eyes, the young boy waved his hand out, but frowned when the vase he was aiming for did not move. "Oh well" he muttered, flopping his head down on his pillow, "I guess I'm too tired."

"The boy is picking up skills quickly" Sensei Wu said, approaching the ninja. "Now though, he needs his rest." With a quick glance around the table, the elderly man cracked a small smile. "Now" he whispered, "what are we all _really_ talking about here?"

"Do you know anything about a possible Serpentine religion?" Kai asked.

"I do" Wu replied, stroking his white beard. "I cannot tell you any specific details about it, but I do remember hearing stories of various gods and goddesses worshiped by the Serpentine." He held a finger up as Kai opened his mouth. "Again, though, I don't know any specifics." The Sensei left the table and headed towards the kitchenette.

Zane rose from the table, stretching out his arms. "Now we know that a religion does, in fact, exist. Tomorrow I will begin research on this specific goddess." He walked over to his bed, yawning. "For now, though, I believe it is time for us to go to sleep."

"You guys go ahead" waved Kai. "I'm going to stay up a little longer to keep an eye on Laurie."

"Suit yourself, _Romeo_" Jay laughed, heading into the bathroom to brush his teeth. Cole followed the blue ninja, the two of them giggling.

"Please do not run yourself down" warned Zane, laying down. "You need to be able to focus, Kai".

The red ninja nodded, pulling a chair from the dining room table over to Laurie's bed. She stirred slightly in her sleep, but did not wake. Even in her dreams the girl seemed restless. "I'm here Laurie" Kai whispered, pushing stray hair away from her face. "I'm here." Within hours, everyone in the apartment was asleep.

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**Alright, I am off to do EVERYTHING now. Hope you are still enjoying this and thank you to everyone who is reading, reviewing, following, etc. I really appreciate it and you guys are just the best. :)**


	5. Nightmares

**Well, Actiongirl101 was curious as to what Laurie was dreaming about. And that just so happened to be the next chapter. This is kind of short, and I've noticed most of my chapters for this story are, but I hope you enjoy it anyways. :)**

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Chapter Five: Nightmares

_Laurie was in the middle of Ninjago Park watching Lloyd run around with the other ninja, a smile on his face. She smiled as her brother stopped suddenly, placing his foot out in time to trip Jay who fell to the ground, limbs sprawled. Zane and Cole helped him up, laughing. Kai sat next to Laurie, his hand in hers. The day was warm and pleasant; a nice breeze blew softly through the trees._

_"Do you want to go join them?" Kai asked, turning towards the orange ninja. "It's not very often we get a day off like this."_

_"No" replied Laurie, brushing red hair behind her ear. "I'm enjoying this break just the way I want to." She blushed, turning away from Kai. Today was going so perfect; Laurie was going to call Kai her boyfriend for the very first time. "I've never done this before" she breathed, her heart beating faster, "but I just wanted to tell you that you're an amazing boyfriend, Kai". Laurie turned her head back towards the red ninja but saw nothing._

_The wind began to pick up as the sky turned from baby blue to slate grey. "Kai?" Laurie called out, scanning Ninjago Park for the red ninja. She was completely alone. An uneasy feeling seemed to seep into her mind, the hair on the back of her neck standing up. Slowly, Laurie turned around to see the Serpentine goddess._

_"Do you think you're safe from me in your dreams, Laurie Garmadon?" Belinda teased, grabbing the girl on her shoulder. "Having your boyfriend play the bodyguard isn't going to protect you from me. I'm everywhere and I see everything. There's no escape for you, my dear."_

_Laurie shrugged the hand off of her shoulder, narrowing her eyes. "Like you said, this is only a dream. I don't think you have as much power as you think you do." She stepped backwards, feeling the harsh wind on her skin. "This is _my_ element."_

_ A tap on the shoulder caused the orange ninja to spin around in fear. Belinda sneered, crossing her arms. "Don't get testy with me, Miss Garmadon. I'm coming for you soon enough and you don't want me to stick around after I've delivered you to your father. Your ninja friends may have a problem on their hands, especially your boyfriend."_

_ "You leave Kai out of this!" Laurie threatened. She felt much braver in her dream than in real life._

_ "I'll do what I please" the goddess hissed, turning away from Laurie. "Your boyfriend _is _kind of cute." With that, she disappeared, leaving Laurie angry and flustered._

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With a gasp, Laurie shot up in bed. Sweat covered her from head to toe, hair clinging to her forehead and neck. She could not catch her breath fast enough, placing a hand over her chest.

Kai raised his head quickly, eyes wide. He had fallen asleep on the chair right next to Laurie's bed. "Laurie, what's wrong?" he asked, scrambling to make sense of what was happening.

"I…she…" the girl tried to say. She scanned the room quickly, noticing that everyone was still sleeping. Laurie took a minute to deeply inhale and exhale before continuing. "Belinda was in my dream. She-she said that she's coming to get me soon." She looked at Kai with wide eyes. "You can't protect me, Kai" Laurie said hurriedly.

"What are you talking about? Of course I can protect you!" argued Kai. "What kind of ninja would I be if I couldn't protect the girl I love?" He grabbed one of Laurie's hands, squeezing it reassuringly.

There was no use arguing with Kai. Laurie squeezed his hand back. "Thanks for always being there for me" she smiled. Laying her head back down on her pillow, Laurie stared up at the ceiling and blinked. "I don't know if I'm going to be able to get back to sleep now."

"That's alright. I'm here for the rest of the night if you need me. I'm _not_ leaving your side, Laurie."

With a content sigh, Laurie closed her eyes and waited for sleep to slowly claim her. Kai's hand in hers made the teenager feel completely at ease. Belinda did not invade her dreams for the duration of the night.

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**Goodness this story has a lot more lovey stuff in it than the last one. XD**

**Who saw Ninjago last night? It made me frustrated from all the events that unfolded, yet happy due to the massive plot development. Sometimes a show just needs to get worse in order to get better. Thank you to everyone who is reading, reviewing, etc. You don't know how much I appreciate it. :)**


	6. Taken

**Chemistry is over and it's time for another update! Just wanted to inform you readers, again, that Lloyd is still young in this. I forgot to mention that earlier. Please enjoy! :3**

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Chapter Six: Taken

"Kai, wake up." Cole stood over the sleeping ninja, shaking his shoulders. "We have to help train Lloyd."

Groaning, Kai shifted in the chair, raising his head. It throbbed painfully after remaining in an awkward position almost all night. "Training already, Cole?" he asked, his eyes full of sleep. "It's barely morning."

"Actually it's about nine o' clock" the black ninja replied with a stern look. "We've tried to let you sleep in for as long as possible. Sensei is getting angry. He's been waiting at Dareth's Dojo since dawn". Cole crossed his arms before continuing. "You know, 'dawn'; the time of the morning when we're _supposed_ to get up and start _training_?"

"There's no reason to be snarky" Kai frowned, rising from the chair and stretching his back. He glanced down at Laurie who was still sleeping. "Cole, I can't leave Laurie here by herself."

"Well that's good because she should be coming too. I don't know if you remember this, but Laurie is a ninja too. She has a destiny to fulfill and powers to master."

"You don't understand" Kai pleaded. "Laurie woke up last night. Apparently Belinda invaded her dreams and she had a rough time getting back to sleep after that." He looked down at the girl, her face slightly contorted in a grimace. "I really want her to sleep."

The ninja leader narrowed his eyes. "No one gets special treatment, Kai." Cole walked to the door, stopping just outside of the door frame. "Get down to the dojo as soon as possible. Bring Laurie with you." With a single movement, the black ninja shut the door, leaving Kai alone with Laurie.

"Ugh" the red ninja shouted in frustration. He paced the room angrily, hands behind his back. Obviously Cole did not care about the Serpentine goddess problem as much as Kai had originally thought. "I don't want to wake her up" Kai said to himself, staring at the floor. "She deserves to catch up on some sleep". A chill ran up his spine, but he ignored the feeling, his focus solely on Laurie.

"The poor girl _does_ seem rather exhausted" another voice sympathized.

"That's what I'm saying" Kai agreed, bumping head first into someone that had not been there before. He saw bare feet and slowly followed them up until he saw the face of a girl, smiling wickedly. "W-who are you?" he asked, stepping backwards, clearly startled. "How did you get in here?"

"I think you know who I am" the girl teased, leaning on the red ninja's shoulder. He tensed up at her touch, frightened by how quickly she had moved. "I made _quite_ the impression on your girlfriend earlier didn't I?"

"Belinda" growled Kai, spinning around to face the goddess. She had vanished and he stood there, confused. "Stop being a coward" he yawned, feeling the lack of decent sleep catching up to him. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. A rough hand spun him around and grabbed him by his shirt.

"As much fun as this is" Belinda smirked, narrowing her eyes, "I'm getting a little tired of this hero act." She placed one of her hands on the struggling ninja's forehead. "Of course, I'm not the only one getting tired" she laughed.

Kai felt a wave of drowsiness overwhelm him. His eyes grew heavy and blurry as he watched the Serpentine goddess chuckle at his predicament. "Leave Laurie alone" he managed to say before he went limp, unconscious.

Belinda rolled her eyes and dropped Kai to the ground. Laurie lay on her bed, tossing and turning. The Serpentine deity sat at the foot of her bed, crossing her ankles and sighing. "Wake up" she complained, patting the bed. "You may want to see what I've done to your boyfriend."

Laurie's eyes snapped open and immediately focused on the individual sitting on her bed. "B-Belinda" she yelled, hugging her covers to her chest. "Where's Kai? He was supposed to be protect-"

"Silence" Belinda sighed, holding a hand out in front of her. "Honestly, no one ever knows when to shut up."

The orange ninja felt the breath leave her lungs for a brief second. Then it returned, but when she went to finish her sentence, nothing came out. Terrified, Laurie's hand flew up to her throat as she continued to form words with her lips. No matter how hard she tried she could not utter a single word.

"Don't freak out" the goddess laughed. "I can return your voice as easily as I've stolen it. I just don't feel like doing it right now."

With wide eyes, Laurie gazed down at the floor. She had not noticed Kai sprawled out on the wood panels, but she jumped out of bed and knelt next to him. With steady hands, Laurie placed his head on her legs and felt for a pulse on his neck. The pounding of blood against his inner arterial walls allowed the orange ninja to relax slightly.

"Relax" Belinda hissed, dragging Laurie away from Kai. "He's not dead, just sleeping." The Serpentine goddess enjoyed seeing people suffer, and Laurie was no exception. "Of course, I could stop his heart if you would like…." The fear in the girl's blue eyes was spectacular. She shook her head back and forth vigorously. "Alright then" Belinda continued. "Then you'll allow me to take you back to your father peacefully?"

Reluctantly, Laurie nodded 'yes'. If she had her voice she probably would have argued with the deity, tried to bargain with her. On the other hand, Laurie did not want to make Belinda angry, especially after she had just threatened to kill Kai.

With a wicked smile, the Serpentine goddess hoisted Laurie over her shoulder and exited the apartment, leaving no trace of her visit behind. Kai snapped awake, his eyes opening to see an empty room. "Laurie?" he called out, attempting to search the all too small apartment for the orange ninja. With a frown, the red ninja ran out of the door before turning down the nearest street in Ninjago City.

Kai had not been blessed with a keen sense of direction and he became lost several times on his journey to Dareth's Dojo. Eventually he made it to the entrance, sweating and panting. The four ninja inside stared at him as Sensei Wu opened the door. "You're late" he frowned, narrowing his eyes. "You are one of my students, Kai, and neither you nor Laurie…"

"Save it" Kai argued. "I'm late because Laurie was kidnapped by Belinda".

"What", asked Cole, crossing his arms, "how could she have just taken her when you were there the whole time?"

"I-I don't know!" the red ninja replied, frustrated. "She put me to sleep. I don't know how she did it!"

"I sense that he is telling the truth" Zane added, studying Kai carefully. "I need to begin conducting research immediately." He stood and bowed to Sensei Wu before leaving the dojo.

"Who's Belinda?" asked Lloyd, fear on his face. "Why did she take Laurie?"

Jay sighed and rubbed his temples. As much as he wanted to believe that this whole 'Serpentine deity' was a farce, it was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the facts. He turned to Lloyd. "We have a lot to catch you up on, kid".

* * *

**Oh no! This isn't good at all. :/**

**Thanks to everyone who is reading! I know I say this all the time, but I'm genuinely appreciative of all of you. Thanks for the continued support and let's all have an awesome long weekend. Well...if you live somewhere that celebrates Veteran's Day anyways. :)**


	7. Damsel No More

**Oh my goodness! I just woke up and it's 2:00 in the afternoon! Let's get this update on the road. This chapter was, like, five pages in my Microsoft Word document, but it looks ****_really short_**** on here. Oh well...**

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Chapter Seven: Damsel No More

Laurie sat on the edge of her bed, the same one she remembered waking up in months ago after her father had rescued her from the desert. "Why did you want me back?" she asked angrily. Belinda had given Laurie her voice back after they arrived on the Black Bounty. "I'm a ninja now and Lloyd tells me that you always want to 'destroy' the ninja."

Lord Garmadon frowned at his only daughter. "Laurie, I love you. I want you and your brother safe, here, with me." He sat down on the comforter next to her, noticing as she shifted farther away. "Pythor told me of the most powerful deity of the Serpentine religion, trapped in the Underworld. I created a portal with the Mega Weapon that allowed her to travel here to Ninjago. She is only here to retrieve you and Lloyd, and then I will send her back to the Underworld."

"You honestly summoned an age old goddess to be a kidnapper?" Laurie questioned, her facial expression communicating boredom. "She's all powerful and stuff like that. You could have her, like, destroy Ninjago a thousand times and rebuild it."

"I summoned Belinda for a specific purpose and then I will send her back." With that, the evil lord stood up and walked to the door of the cabin. "If you need me, I'll be in the captain's quarters" he stated before leaving.

"Yeah, whatever" mocked Laurie, crossing her arms angrily over her chest. "I can't believe how stupid his whole scheme is" she remarked, standing to pace the floor. "There are so many better things that Belinda could do." Hushed voices wafted into the room, silencing Laurie. With a smile on her face, the girl crept to her door.

"Garmadon is in his quarters" remarked a muffled Pythor. "Now, let me enlighten you on the next phase of this plan."

"Next phase" Laurie breathed, pushing her ear to the door. The steel was extremely cold, making her shiver. "I just thought the plan was to bring Lloyd and me back here". She tried everything in her power not to make any noise, but Laurie continually heard her own labored breathing over what was being disclosed.

Suddenly, the door fell away and the girl's face met the wooden floor with an unpleasant smack. Disoriented and confused, Laurie tried to pick herself up, but her head was roughly yanked upwards by her hair. Belinda stared at the girl, smiling when she noticed the red knot that was beginning to form on Laurie's forehead. "Aw, what happened?" the goddess teased, attempting to make a convincing pouting face. "Was someone trying to eavesdrop and then hurt themselves? That's called karma, sweetie."

Laurie narrowed her eyes and sniffed, trying to stay brave in the face of her captors. "Let me go" she stated firmly, feeling as if every individual strand of hair was being ripped from her scalp. Belinda let go of Laurie's hair and the orange ninja caught herself before she could hit the floor once more.

"Yuck" Belinda complained, shaking her right hand. "Some of your hair got on me. Are you molting or something?"

"I don't _molt_" Laurie huffed, crossing the room to sit back on the bed. Awkwardly, she hugged her legs which were adorned in black fleece pajama pants. Occasionally she had wondered why the ninja did not just fight in normal clothing. Now Laurie understood why. Her uniform made her feel more confident and powerful; her pajamas, not so much. "Humans don't molt".

Belinda entered the room with Pythor trailing behind her. Looking extremely bored, the goddess lazed on the foot of Laurie's cot. "So, pipsqueak, how much did you hear?"

"Hear?" Laurie asked, trying to keep her voice calm and her breathing even. Her heart was palpating hard against her chest and she could feel her stomach tighten into a knot. "I don't know what you're talking about. I was just about to come out of the room to speak with my father, that's all".

Pythor slithered over, a smirk on his face. "You must have been very close to the door if you fell when we opened it." He searched the girl's face carefully and noticed that she was avoiding all eye contact. "Surely you weren't going to talk with Lord Garmadon. He had just left the room a few minutes prior."

The orange ninja swallowed hard, caught in her fib. "I had forgotten to tell him something was all" she laughed nervously. There was no way Pythor and Belinda thought she was telling the truth. Laurie had never been a decent liar, she was only slightly convincing when she had amnesia back when she first met the ninja. "You know what though" Laurie continued, scooting along the bed spread until her back met the wall, "it's not all that important. I'll just stay here."

"Are you sure?" asked Belinda, leaning on Laurie's right shoulder. "You can go talk to your dad if you really want to." The goddess leaned in close, her mouth an inch from the girl's ear. "Of course" she whispered, "unless you're trying to escape."

Escape. The word had never crossed Laurie's mind. She felt like kicking herself for not even thinking of attempting to get back to Ninjago City on her own accord. The girl had just expected Kai and the rest of the ninja to come searching for her. It seemed entirely selfish now that she thought about. Laurie was a ninja, not a damsel in distress. It was time she stopped relying on everyone else and took matters into her own hands. "Escape" Laurie growled, shifting away from Belinda, "why would I do that? You threatened to kill Kai if I didn't come with you. Why would I try to leave and risk you hurting him or anyone else?"

Belinda blinked slowly, leaning away from the girl. She had not expected such a response. "Well then…" she tried to say something but could not think of a single thing to say. She glanced around the room, her indigo eyes looking utterly lost. Finally she stood and whispered something to Pythor that Laurie could not hear. "Stay here, girl" Belinda addressed Laurie, her eyes narrowed in frustration. Pythor and the goddess exited the room and Laurie heard the soft click of a lock.

Finally alone, Laurie let out a breath that she had been holding for the longest time. Her muscles relaxed and she lay down properly on the bed. Laurie had found it easy to dissuade Belinda from thinking she would attempt to escape. Escaping was risky and the counter argument she had provided to the goddess was highly plausible. The orange ninja stared at the ceiling and threw her left arm over her forehead. She had done it; she had actually gotten the upper hand on her captors. Now the only thing left to do was actually try and formulate an escape plan.

The door to the room, the only visible exit, was now locked. Laurie exhaled deeply once more, trying to prevent herself from becoming hopeless. "Come on" she whispered to herself thoughtfully. "You can figure out a way off of this ship. You're the prophesized ninja. If you can't get yourself out of a little jam like this, how are you going to protect your brother?" With her pitiful pep talk completed, Laurie sat up and looked around the room. There seemed to be nothing with which could be used to escape. Then, the orange ninja saw it: a porthole, just above a nightstand, in the wall to her right. She smiled before hopping off of the bed.

The nightstand was made of oak and was heavier than she had anticipated it. Much to Laurie's chagrin, it made an awful sound as she pushed it away from the porthole. She expected Pythor or Belinda to come running into the room any second. Unfortunately, there was not enough time to worry about that. With a grunt, Laurie gave a final push and relaxed when the nightstand hit the corner of the room. Taking in a deep breath, the orange ninja unlatched the porthole and watched as it swung open.

The salty sea breeze felt like an old friend and gave her a sudden surge of strength. "I can do this" she grinned, peering out of the open hole. The water below lapped at the Black Bounty's hull, but the distance between Laurie and the water did not seem very great. "Time to get out of here" Laurie breathed, preparing to fit through the porthole. "I'm coming back, guys".

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**Aw yeah. It's time to head back to the ninja and leave the Black Bounty behind. Go Laurie!**

**Still hope everyone is enjoying this because I'm having a lot of fun writing this. More fun than writing the first one, but I don't know why. I think I'm going to close the poll on my profile next weekend so if you haven't voted for the name of my OC and you would like to you only have a little time left. Thanks for everyone who has voted and is reading, reviewing, following, etc. You guys probably ****_do_**** know how much I appreciate it, but I'm going to tell you anyways. I appreciate it! :D**


	8. Unexpected Surprise

**Again it seems that I have fallen into a coma from staying up until 3:00 to watch Toonami. I curse the individuals who decided to move Eureka 7 to 2:30 in the morning. I'm trying to watch that show and they decide to move it so Thundercats and Sym-Bionic Titan can be on earlier. I'm not complaining because I'm watching those too, but Eureka 7 is more important to me. Whatever, it's all good. Time for an update. This is my favorite chapter so far. :D**

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Chapter Eight: Unexpected Surprise

Lloyd sat at the dining room table, his head bowed. Cole, Kai, and Jay had just finished explaining to him what was happening. "Poor Laurie" he sighed, staring at his reflection in the polished wood. "I hope she's okay."

"Sensei Wu is trying to find her with the Spirit Smoke right now" Cole said. "Laurie is going to be fine, Lloyd. She's a tough girl."

"I know" replied the green ninja looking utterly defeated, "I've known her my entire life. My dad's just getting desperate and the fact that he summoned a Serpentine deity to do his bidding is just weird. He hates the Serpentine."

"It is what it is" shrugged Jay, leaning back on two legs of his chair. "Some people make a phone call; some people summon an ancient chaos goddess to get their children." Noticing that Lloyd did not find this amusing, he frowned. "I'm kidding" the blue ninja said with a nervous laugh. "In all seriousness, we are going to find your sister and stop this Lucinda or whatever her name is."

"Belinda" Kai corrected.

"That's right; Belinda!"

The room grew silent as Sensei Wu approached, his face hinted at no emotions. "I cannot seem to locate Laurie with the Spirit Smoke" he stated glumly, resting his walking stick on the wooden floor. "I fear that this means something has happened to her."

"Is she dead?" asked Kai and Lloyd in unison, their faces full of fear.

"No, I do not think she is dead" replied the elderly man. "I am only speculating that something out of the ordinary has occurred."

Kai narrowed his eyes. "Of course something out of the ordinary happened! Laurie was _kidnapped_ by a _goddess_. Stuff like that just doesn't happen every day, Sensei". He sighed and closed his eyes, full of regret. "Sorry, this whole situation just makes me mad. I could have protected her. I _should_ have protected her. I'm a failure."

"No you're not" Lloyd protested. "From what you told me it sounded like you did everything possible to protect my sister." The green ninja hopped off his chair and walked over to wear Kai sat, placing a small hand on the red ninja's shoulder. "You shouldn't talk bad about yourself like that, Kai."

"Lloyd's right" Cole chimed in, smiling. "This is in no way your fault. Chin up, buddy. We'll find Laurie, I promise."

A knock sounded at the door and five heads whipped around in unison. "That's weird" remarked Jay, staring at Sensei Wu. "If that was Zane coming back he would have just walked right in."

The elderly man gave a shrug, a look of suspicion clear on his face. "Who will get the door then?"

"I will" Lloyd said, heading towards the apartment door.

"H-hold on there, pipsqueak" Kai said urgently, moving to block the green ninja's path. "What if it's Belinda? She may have come to take you to Lord Garmadon as well."

"And she would knock?" the boy asked, rolling his eyes. Swiftly, he pushed the red ninja aside and reached for the door knob. In a single motion, he opened the door to see a pair of blue eyes staring back at him. "L-Laurie?" he stuttered, unable to fathom what was happening.

Lord Garmadon's daughter gave a weak smile. Lloyd gazed at his sister with wide eyes. She looked as if she had just spent months wandering in the middle of nowhere. Her hair, normally unruly and slightly frizzy, was plastered against her neck, cheeks, and forehead. The baggy pajama pants and long red t-shirt clung to her thin frame. "Hey" she sniffed, rubbing her nose with the back of her right hand, "I'm back."

Kai could not move. He was stunned to see Laurie standing in the doorway to the apartment. "Y-you escaped?" he asked, a smile pulling at the edge of his lips.

"I sure did" Laurie grinned. She gave a small cough and went to enter the apartment. Her left foot caught on the slightly raised doorstep and she fell into the apartment, hitting the floor with a hard thump.

Kai and Cole knelt down on either side of the girl. "Laurie, are you okay?" Kai asked, concern obvious in his voice. He placed a hand on Laurie's shoulder, protectively, and felt the wet material of her t-shirt. "You're soaking wet. What happened?" Both Kai and Cole offered a hand to Laurie. She took them both and used the support to kneel on the wooden floor.

"The Black Bounty was floating on the ocean" she sniffed again, rubbing her nose furiously. "I climbed out of the porthole in my room and fell into the sea. I just swam from wherever I was until I found the Ninjago City Port." She tried to ignore the looks that everyone in the room was giving her. "I just needed to come back" Laurie stated, directing her attention now to Kai. "I needed to come home."

The red ninja leaned in, giving the girl a hug. "I'm just glad you're back" Kai breathed, pushing Laurie's wet hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry that I couldn't stop Belinda from taking you. You would have never had to go through this if it wasn't for me."

Laurie gave a small laugh. "You did everything you could. Now I know that I'm tough enough to actually help myself in a situation like that." Kai could feel her heart beating slowly against his, her embrace somewhat weak. "Apparently I'm tougher than I look. This whole ordeal made me realize that I _can_ take on the responsibilities foretold by The Prophecy." She looked over at Lloyd with a smile. "I _can_ protect my brother".

Lloyd looked at his sister with a sad expression. He knew that Laurie was good enough to protect him, but he did not know that she had held such doubts about her own abilities. That seemed a little odd. She had been training so hard with Zane and the others. She knew that, no matter what happened, protecting him was her destiny.

"Let's get her over to her bed" Cole suggested, standing. Kai and Laurie broke apart. The girl took the black ninja's outstretched hand and used it steady herself. She felt disoriented and little shaky. Kai quickly grabbed her other hand and the two slowly walked the orange ninja to her bed. It was still unmade from when Belinda had taken her.

"How long have I been gone?" Laurie asked, somewhat bewildered. She seemed to have no sense of time.

"Just about a day" Cole replied, helping the girl sit on her bed. "You know what; maybe we should let you change into something that's dry."

"Wow, I can't believe _I _didn't think of that" Kai sighed, feeling a little side-tracked. He was just so glad that Laurie was back, safe and sound, that he had not even thought about the simple things like changing out of wet clothes.

"Yeah" Laurie gave a slight chuckle. "I should probably do that." She stood up slowly and walked over to the small wooden dresser that sat adjacent to her bed. Bending over, Laurie opened the top drawer and grabbed a dry pair of jean shorts and an orange t-shirt. "I'll be right back" she said, leaving to head towards the bathroom. The door clicked shut quietly.

"Look at that!" Jay smiled, still sitting at the dining room table. "Laurie's back. She's back, guys!"

"Indeed" nodded Sensei Wu, "though it is odd that I could not find my niece with the Spirit Smoke." He turned towards Cole before continuing speaking. "I am going into town for a little while. I'll be back soon". With that the elderly man exited the apartment and shut the door behind him.

"Do you think Zane is gonna come back soon?" Lloyd wondered, leaning against the wall next to his bed. "I want to know more about Belinda so we can fight her."

"Fight her?" asked Cole. "Why should we fight her now that Laurie's back?"

Kai gave the black ninja a bored expression. "You don't think that Belinda would notice Laurie is missing eventually? Besides, she would come for Lloyd anyways". He heard the bathroom door open and turned to see Laurie exit. Her wet hair had been hurriedly pulled back into a ponytail, though some of the excess liquid had dropped onto the shoulder of her t-shirt, turning the light orange material much darker.

"It's kind of cold in here" Laurie said, rubbing her hands up and down her arms. She walked over to her bed and hopped under the covers quickly, curling into a ball in order to conserve her body heat.

"I don't think it's cold" Jay stated, finally leaving his place at the table and standing next to Kai and Cole. "I think it feels just fine."

Lloyd's eyes widened as he stared at his sister. The apartment's thermostat adorned the wall closest to the kitchenette. Quickly, he crossed the one room and went to read the temperature. It was seventy-eight degrees, not cold at all. "Weird…" he whispered to himself before returning to the others.

Feeling slightly uneasy about the situation, the green ninja approached his Laurie's bed. "You're cold, sis?" he asked, grabbing the edge of her comforter with both hands. "I'll just take this ratty old thing and give you another, better blanket." Lloyd tugged on the orange comforter, but his sister's grip was strong.

"What are you doing, Lloyd?" she whined slightly, turning towards the wall. She gripped onto the comforter as tightly as she could. The room was absolutely freezing and she did not want to feel the air on her skin. "I'm just cold. Leave me alone!"

A rough hand grabbed the back of Lloyd's shirt and pulled. The green ninja relinquished his hold on the bed comforter and looked back to see an angry Kai. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked, his eyes narrowed.

"Laurie is really cold. Didn't you hear what Jay said? It's not cold in here at all!" He sighed, realizing that nobody understood where he was coming from. He wriggled out of Kai's grip and turned to face the red ninja. "What if Laurie was bitten by a Fangpyre? My dad has a bunch of the lower ranking Serpentine working on his ship. One of them could have bitten her."

"Exactly what does that have to do with being cold?" Cole asked, raising a bushy eyebrow.

Lloyd just stared at the black ninja. "Of course you wouldn't know. When I was turning into a Serpentine I was really cold all the time. I was becoming cold blooded. Reptiles like it warm; it's how they _stay_ warm." He looked at Kai, his expression serious and stoic. "I want to see if Laurie has any bite marks."

Cole looked at the young boy and he gave a sigh. "I think Lloyd's right" he announced, walking over to Laurie. "It wouldn't hurt to just check and see if she was bitten, right?" He ignored the disapproving glance from Kai. "Seriously, Kai?" he continued. "It's not like we're throwing Laurie in prison. We're just checking to make sure everything is okay."

The orange ninja did not want to crawl out from under the covers. She knew she had not been bitten by any Serpentine, but she did want to alleviate any suspicion. "It's fine, Kai" she smiled, pushing the warm comforter to the foot of the bed. Goosebumps dotted her legs up until her mid-thigh, where the shorts started. The air felt like ice against every portion of her skin that was bare.

Kai and Lloyd helped her stand up and proceeded to check from her neck down to her ankles. "See? There was absolutely nothing" Kai frowned, angry with Lloyd. "Now can we let Laurie just relax? She had to swim to come back here you know."

Laurie hopped back into bed, pulling the comforter up to her chin. All of her muscles relaxed as she felt the warmth take over her body. Curious, Jay placed a hand on the girl's forehead. She was burning up. "I think she has a fever" he told the others, taking his hand away.

"Probably from having to swim from the Black Bounty" Cole offered. "She could have caught a cold or something".

"Nya's coming back from town soon with some groceries" Kai said, sitting at the foot of Laurie's bed. "We'll make you some soup or something when she gets back. Until then you just stay in bed and rest, okay?" The red ninja did not like seeing Laurie like this. She seemed so fragile and weak.

"Okay, thanks" she sniffed, turning towards the wall. Everyone left to sit at the dining room table once more. The incessant chattering was extremely low and quiet. Lloyd, however, sat on his bed watching Laurie. So maybe she had not been bitten by a Fangpyre, but why did she have a fever? He watched as she tossed and turned in her bed, eventually turning to face him. Laurie gave her brother a smirk before closing her eyes and falling asleep.

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**Alright, I would love to hear some theories about Laurie and her fever. I honestly came up with it while writing this chapter a few days ago and decided to add it. There is a reason why it's there, but why? :)**

**Poll is still open if you haven't voted for my new OC's name and you would like to. Thanks to everyone who is reading and reviewing and supporting. I appreciate it~**


	9. Confrontations

**This chapter is, hopefully, pretty long once it's posted because it was eight pages on my Microsoft Document! XD**

**I wrote this all yesterday in between studying so I hope it flows well and sounds good. Please enjoy...**

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Chapter Nine: Confrontations

"Is she getting any better?" Nya sat down next to Jay at the dining room table, bags of groceries piled on the flat, wooden surface. She was surprised to see Laurie lying down in her bed when she had returned.

"Well, she isn't getting any worse" replied Kai, sighing. He was absolutely exhausted and he had finally felt able to relax when Laurie returned. Now she was sick and he felt restless. There was nothing he could do about the situation except wait and see what would happen. "Her temperature is one hundred and one. It's been that way for the past two hours."

"Perhaps this chicken soup will help her feel better" Zane smiled, leaving the stove with a bowl of noodles. The steam wafted off the hot liquid before quickly dissipating. Ignoring the stifled chuckles he still received from wearing his pink apron, the nindroid placed the bowl in front of the red ninja. "You may be the one to give it to her if you would like."

Quietly, Kai took the warm dish and walked over to Laurie's bed. She gazed at him with tired and glassy eyes, but gave a small smile. "Is that for me?" she asked weakly before having a short coughing fit. The violent release of air caused her body to shudder and shake.

With a forlorn expression, Kai knelt down next to the bed and waited for the girl to finish coughing. Once she stopped, he placed the bowl on her comforter and watched as she steadied it with thin fingers. It almost looked as if Laurie was losing weight; she seemed thinner than she had when she arrived back at the apartment only a few hours ago. "Yeah, it's for you" Kai smiled sadly. "Just eat it slowly because you don't want to make yourself sick".

Laurie nodded, shifting to sit up in the bed. She was not feeling as cold as she had previously, but apparently her temperature was still there. Dipping the metal spoon into the soup, Laurie blew on it carefully for a few seconds before attempting to actually ingest it. The liquid seemed to scald her tongue and throat, but she did not mind. If it was going to help her feel better than she did not care if she had ruined taste buds for the rest of her life. "Thanks, Kai" the orange ninja said softly.

"Don't thank me" Kai replied. "Zane's the one that made it for you".

"Thank you, Zane!" Laurie smiled before covering her mouth to quickly cough.

Kai left Laurie's bed side and found that his gaze landed on Lloyd. The green ninja was sitting on his bed, legs crossed. He seemed deep in thought, his attention miles away. "Hey, Lloyd, what's up?" Kai asked slowly.

Lloyd's eyes met Kai's and he shook his head slowly. "Sorry, I was just thinking" he replied before sliding off of his bed and walking towards the kitchenette. The green ninja approached Zane who now sat at the table with the others. "Hey, Zane" he started, sliding one of the wooden chairs out and sitting in it, "what did you find out about Belinda?"

The white ninja waited until Kai was seated among the group before answering. "Unfortunately I did not discover much about our kidnapping goddess" he frowned. "The Serpentine feared her powers, offering up sacrifices to appease her. When she was happy, she would leave the Serpentine alone. Harvests would flourish and life would go on peacefully. If the goddess was unhappy, she would harness the forces of nature to punish the Serpentine. Tribes were wiped out and Ninjago practically fell into eternal darkness. According to the folk lore, the Serpentine continued daily sacrifices until Belinda became bored by the peace. Then the Serpentine were locked away by our ancestors and she traveled to the Underworld."

"That's _great_" Jay sighed, clearly unhappy with the information that was being presented to him. "I love a history lesson as much as the next ninja, but _how_ do we defeat this thing?"

Zane seemingly avoided eye contact with anyone, instead choosing to stare at his own warped reflection in the table. "There appears to be no mention of that subject readily available for research."

Kai gave an exasperated breath. "You had to have found _something_, Zane." He held his head in his hands and closed his eyes. "I mean, didn't you find any stories about warriors or anything trying to fight her?"

The nindroid stared at the red ninja with a blank expression. "That is just it, Kai. These are all _stories_ that I have found and looked into. Granted they are most likely factual, I doubt that any sane person would genuinely believe the information that is held within them."

Cole jumped into the conversation when he saw Kai becoming angry. "What Zane's trying to say is that the people who wrote these things are just retelling legends that they themselves have only heard before." The red ninja took in a deep breath before glancing over at the ninja of earth. "Alright, it seems like you get what we're trying to say. A majority of people just believe these stories are fiction…"

"They can't be fiction though" Kai argued, raising his head.

"Would you have believed anything about Belinda if this wasn't happening?" asked Jay.

"Well, no, I probably wouldn't…"

Laurie was listening to the other ninja argue about Belinda. She felt as if she knew the Serpentine goddess better than any of them, considering she had had more encounters with Belinda. Making sure the bowl of soup was stable, the orange ninja shifted slightly in her bed, sitting up farther. "Belinda has all these weird powers and stuff" she frowned. "Even if we did have an idea on how to defeat her, how could we?"

The others turned towards Laurie, somewhat shocked in her participation with the subject. Lloyd was the first one to speak, one of his fingers lazily tracing geometric patterns along the wooden grain of the table. "We're ninja and we would find a way. I can recall these guys doing some crazy stuff when they were trying to defeat the Great Devourer. Nya saved me from almost being swallowed and the others ran around several blocks of Ninjago City, immobilizing the Devourer so dad could destroy it." He looked at his sister with one raised eyebrow. "It's not a matter of _how_, it's a matter of _will_. We _will_ defeat Belinda and it doesn't matter _how_ we do it."

Seemingly speechless, Laurie went back to slowly eating her soup. The liquid had cooled significantly since she had first received it so it no longer felt so harsh on her throat.

"Maybe we could find a Serpentine and catch them" Nya suggested, deciding to start putting the remainder of the groceries away. They had been sitting out on the table for almost an hour. "No one would know more about a Serpentine goddess than a Serpentine."

Zane gave a small smile. "I like this plan. The odds of us finding useful information via this method are very high." He stood, taking off his apron and resting it on the back of the wooden chair. "If we left now than we would have approximately six hours of daylight left to aid us in our search."

"Sounds like a plan to me" Cole agreed. He walked over to the corner of the room where the ninja kept their weapons. It was a small little stand with notches for each weapon. He pulled out his scythe and stared at his reflection in the glinting metal blade. "Let's get this show on the road". Cole tucked the scythe into the sheath on his back before grabbing the nunchuks, shurikens, and sword that also sat on the stand. "Here you go guys" the black ninja announced, laying the weapons down on the table.

"Thanks, man" Jay smiled, grabbing his nunchuks off of the table and twirling them. He spun around quickly, changing into his armored uniform while inside his Spinjitzu tornado. The others followed suit, except Kai. He still sat at the table, gazing at the sword in front of him. "Um…aren't you coming, too?" the blue ninja prompted, his visible brow furrowed.

"What?" Kai asked, blinking quickly. He looked at the faces of his friends, all equipped and ready to go. "Oh, yeah, I'm coming" he replied, reaching for the hilt of his sword and sliding the weapon across the table.

"Don't scratch the table" Nya chastised, taking the last bag of groceries off of the table. She left the bag on the counter, next to the stove, before turning back to the group. "Okay, let's just head out now" she smiled, absentmindedly touching the bracelet on her right wrist.

"Sorry about the table, sis" the red ninja apologized, holding the sword with both hands. He stood, spinning into his uniform before sheathing the blade. "Alright guys, let's go"!

Lloyd pulled down his mask, but it could not hide his excitement. The green ninja was radiating happiness, adrenaline coursing through his body. "Woo-hoo! Let's go catch some snakes!"

The black ninja gave Lloyd a stern look. "I don't think you should come with us, Lloyd. You should stay here where it's safe." Cole watched as the green ninja's eyes narrowed in frustration. "C'mon, kid, this isn't the first time we've wanted you to stay behind. You're too important to just go running around doing whatever you want."

"It's not fair!" the boy whined, taking the green mask off of his face and crossing his arms. "I just wanna go look for some Serpentine with you guys. It's not going to be 'dangerous' if I'm with all of you!"

Jay addressed the blonde-haired boy, his face very serious. "Lloyd, just stay here with Laurie, okay?" He ruffled the green ninja's hair slightly, making it stick up slightly on the ride side. "Don't you want to make sure she's feeling okay?"

"Fine" Lloyd huffed, conceding defeat and scowling. "I'll stay here."

Laurie gave her brother a smile before leaning over the side of her bed to place the bowl of chicken noodle soup on the floor. It had become cold and she no longer wished to eat it. "Lloyd, it'll be fine. Once everyone comes back they'll tell you what they found out."

Kai looked over at the girl he cared for. She seemed to be doing better, the color slowly returning to her face. Laurie's movements, though slow, did not seem to be as weak or jerky. Her blue eyes met his for a second and she blushed slightly, turning her eyes to her comforter. "You know what" the red ninja started, walking over to sit on Laurie's bed, "take Lloyd with you".

"What?" everyone asked, including Lloyd and Laurie.

"You can't be serious, Kai" Cole sputtered. "He's too important to Ninjago. Do you remember the last time we brought him out with us? He almost turned into a Serpentine!"

"It'll be fine. It's not fair to keep the kid cooped up in the apartment all the time when we go out. If you guys do happen to run into a Serpentine he can test what he's been learning." Kai gave the green ninja a wink and watched as his face lit up with joy.

Lloyd hurriedly rushed the red ninja, pulling his mask down over his face. "You really mean it, Kai?" he squealed, practically jumping up and down.

"Yeah, do you really mean it, Kai?" Laurie asked, a slight frown on her face. "He could get hurt."

Kai laughed, seemingly ignoring Laurie's interjection. "Of course I mean it, pint-size" he laughed. "Unless Cole has another objection to it."

The ninja of earth let out a long sigh, but just shrugged. "He can come with us, but you're going to be responsible for him if anything happens, alright hot-head?" Cole looked at his friend with weary eyes. "Well come one, Kai. Let's head out."

"Oh, no. I'm going to stay here with Laurie in case she needs anything."

Zane gave the ninja of fire a blank expression. "It will be much more efficient to have more eyes scanning for any Serpentine" he explained.

Kai gave his friends a serious look, his eyes slightly narrowed. "I'm staying here".

"Alrighty then, we should go head out now" Jay said, turning on his heel. The others followed, with Cole bringing up the rear. He took one more look at Kai before closing the door to the apartment.

"You didn't have to switch places with Lloyd" Laurie sighed, sitting up with her back against the wall. The home no longer felt cold to her and she hugged her bare shins tightly. "I don't want to see anything bad happen to him. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if he was hurt again." With a sniff, the girl yanked the tie in her hair out. Red locks spilled around her face, framing it slightly. "I don't think I have a fever anymore, Kai. I feel fine."

The red ninja scooted closer to Laurie, their shoulders touching. He took his mask off and threw it on the floor. "Nothing is going to happen to Lloyd, Laurie" he said reassuringly. Kai could barely see her face through the curtain of hair. "I think I know what I'm doing."

"I would have felt better if he was here with me" Laurie replied, turning away from Kai to face the window. It suddenly occurred to her how depressing it was to have a window right next to a brick wall. There was never enough natural light in the apartment.

Suddenly, something cold touched the back of Laurie's neck and she spun around. Kai had his blade out, the tip facing the orange ninja. "W-what are you doing, Kai!?" the girl asked nervously. Her heart was beating fast and she leapt off of the bed, standing in the middle of the room.

The red ninja slowly approached before lunging and grabbing the girl's arm. She called out, but Kai spun her around. He held her firmly with his left arm, her back to his chest. With his right hand he held the blade of his sword to her throat. Kai noticed the girl's breathing shallow almost instantly.

"I-I don't understand w-what's happening, Kai" Laurie stuttered. She tried to break free from his iron grip, but it was useless. The cold metal of his sword pushed against the hollow of her throat. She could feel the blood pulsing through her arteries.

"Why didn't you fight back?" the red ninja asked, his voice like steel. "Your bō staff was right above your bed after all."

"I would never want to fight you!" Laurie cried, feeling tears prickling behind her eyes. The sword pushed harder against her neck. She felt the warm trickle of blood slide down her throat and collar bone before absorbing into the material of her t-shirt. "Please, stop" she begged, tears streaming down her face. "I thought you loved me."

Kai clenched his teeth and tried to block out the sound of the girl's crying. It was painful to hear, but he had to push through it. "I love Laurie, but you're not Laurie."

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**Yeah, couldn't really hide anything from you guys, like Xion98. ;) Especially PowerinPink, she had it spot on! XD**

**I want to try and update tomorrow, but I don't know if I will be able to. I've caught up with myself with the updating and I have to write them out chapter by chapter now. Plus I have three tests this week and that's not fun for anyone, especially considering they're spaced out tomorrow, Wednesday, and Thursday. Yay, school...**

**Thanks for reading, reviewing, etc. You guys are probably tired of hearing how much I appreciate, but I do! :3**


	10. Slipping Away

**Oh my goodness, oh my goodness! This is my favorite chapter so far! I'm being a biased author right now, but this chapter is so awesome! XD**

**I was up late writing it and I just love the way it turned out. I really tried to contemplate the fighting sequences and try to make them visually realistic. I hope you all enjoy this chapter because I am so excited by it and I _wrote_ it! XD**

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Chapter Ten: Slipping Away

Laurie stood silently, ignoring the blade at her throat and just trying to contemplate the statement Kai had just made. "I-I'm not Laurie?" she asked slowly, somewhat confused. "I don't understand what you mean, Kai."

"Why do you look like her?" Kai growled, trying to control himself. The red ninja wished he could just slit the girl's throat and be done with everything. He did not have time to play these games. "Why do you look like her?" he asked more forcefully, tightening his grip on the sword. The phalanges in his hand ached terribly as his knuckles began to turn white.

"Look like whom?" Laurie asked. Her crying had turned into shallow gasps of air that spontaneously occurred. Every now and then her throat would hit the metal blade once more, re-injuring the already open wound. The crimson bloodstain on her orange shirt was slowly growing, spreading down the sleeve. "It's me, Kai. It's Laurie!"

Kai stood absolutely still, ignoring what Laurie was saying. He could feel anger rising inside, like a tidal wave threatening to spill over an unkempt levy. "Stop lying" he yelled, taking in a deep breath. "I don't have time to mess around. Now humor me and tell me why you look like Laurie!"

A small chuckle. It escaped Laurie's throat and filled the otherwise empty air. The laugh grew more powerful, forceful, and seemed to reverberate off of the walls. Kai's blood ran cold; he seemed paralyzed with fear. "How did you figure it out?" the girl asked, her head bowed slightly. Red hair spilled around her face and shoulders.

"Your eyes" Kai announced proudly, "they aren't the same color as Laurie's."

Belinda disappeared and the red ninja fell forward, sword clattering to the floor. It skidded across the wooden panels and landed in front of the window, the faint sunlight glinting off of the blade. Kai looked up, scanning the room for the Serpentine goddess. She was nowhere to be found. He knelt on his right leg, opening and closing his right hand slowly to try and get the feeling back in it. The color slowly started to return to his knuckles.

"My eyes?" asked a condescending voice. "You knew that I wasn't your beloved because of my _eyes_?" Kai turned to see Belinda standing behind him. It was eerie, hearing that voice come from Laurie's body. The red-head gave a smirk and leaned in close to the ninja. "Isn't that rich? True love prevails once more!" the girl chuckled, grabbing the front of Kai's red gi and hoisting him off the ground. "I thought her eyes were blue. That's why I made my eyes blue!"

Kai choked, his hands grabbing on to Belinda's forearm for support. "Her eyes are like ice" he managed to get out in between breaths. "They're such a light blue they're almost grey." Belinda frowned at him, throwing him across the room. The red ninja hit the apartment door and slumped to the wooden floor. If only he could get to his sword, but it was by the window. He had to distract the goddess, keep her talking until he could find a way to procure his weapon once more. "Still though, why do you look like Laurie?" Kai was afraid to hear the answer though. He feared Belinda was possessing Laurie and that he had actually hurt the girl he cared for.

"I'm a _goddess_" Belinda said, rolling her eyes. "I have the ability to shape shift". She walked back over to Laurie's bed and grabbed the tie that lie on the comforter. With swift work, the thick red curtain of hair was pulled back into a sloppy ponytail. "Unfortunately, it's not as simple as it sounds. I need something that belongs to whatever, or whomever, I wish to transform into". The goddess gave the red ninja a wicked smile, fangs visible. "Do you want to know what I took from your precious girlfriend?" she sneered.

He could not help himself. Kai stood and lunged at the girl, his body landing on Laurie's bed. The momentum from the jump caused him to hit the wall, Laurie's bō staff falling from its perch above him. The wooden stick landed on the red ninja's head and he grabbed it immediately. Kai looked to see Belinda sitting on Lloyd's bed, her ankles crossed. "Come on, take a guess, ninja" she continued, laughing. "What did I take from your girlfriend?"

The red ninja leapt off of Laurie's bed and rushed the goddess. He pinned her against the green comforter of Lloyd's bed with the bō staff. The wooden weapon lay across her throat and both wrists. "If you hurt her in anyway…" Kai could not finish his thought. He was already staring at an injured Laurie. Belinda was sadistic. She could have done much worse to Laurie than just a cut on the throat.

"So reckless" Belinda teased, giggling, "getting yourself mixed up in situations like this. Don't freak out too much, _lover boy_. I took some of her hair, that's all". She gasped slightly as Kai applied more pressure to her restraints. "You're no fun" she said between clenched teeth. "I thought playing the guessing game would get me a little more of a rise out of you."

"Change back" the red ninja demanded. "You don't have to look like Laurie anymore. I know you're not her."

Belinda grinned wickedly. "Where's the fun in that though?" she asked, bringing her foot up to kick Kai in the chest. He stumbled backwards, finally placing a majority of his body weight on his right foot to stop. Belinda was no longer in front of him. He sighed, frustrated. How was he supposed to fight someone that could teleport?

Then Kai heard the sound of metal sliding across the floor.

He turned to see Belinda holding his sword delicately in both hands. "Weapons" she sneered, grabbing the hilt with her left hand. "I'll never understand why humans use these things." Almost thoughtfully, the goddess stared at the sword, running a finger down the curved blade. "Care to duel, ninja?" Belinda disappeared and rematerialized behind Kai. He had little time to react.

With a quick reaction, Kai held the bō staff with both hands horizontally, effectively blocking the attack. The blade of the sword carved out a small niche from Laurie's weapon. Frowning, Kai pushed against Belinda, placing all of his energy into a counter attack. The goddess stumbled and the red ninja used the bō staff to sweep Belinda's feet out from under her. With a loud thud, her back met the floor and she grimaced.

"Tougher than I thought" Belinda winked, her face still contorted in pain. "I know why that girl of yours likes you so much." Kai brought one blunt end of the wooden weapon down on Belinda's chest, like he had seen Laurie do to Skalidor back in Ouroboros. She sputtered, gasping for air. One of her fangs punctured her bottom lip, blood beginning to ooze from the wound. "You're really cute when you're angry" Belinda finished, coughing slightly and wiping the blood away with the back of her left hand.

Kai stared down at the Serpentine deity. Her freckles, her red hair. She was Laurie through and through, but she was not. He had to remember that. Belinda's condescending voice, her harsh actions. This was not the girl he loved. The red ninja fell forward, using the end of Laurie's weapon to keep himself upright.

Belinda was gone.

With a frustrated cry, Kai banged the bō staff on the ground. He had been distracted by his own thoughts and had not been watching Belinda. A rough hand grabbed his right shoulder, pulling him backwards. The weapon he had been holding clattered to the wooden floor. Within seconds there was a blade to his throat.

"Now this situation seems a little familiar" hissed a voice in his left ear. Kai's breathing became lighter and faster as the cold metal wavered near his skin. Instinctively, the red ninja leaned forward quickly, cutting the underside of his chin with the blade. Belinda tumbled forward, over his back, and lay sprawled on the floor once more. The sword landed beside Kai and he grabbed the hilt before lunging towards the helpless girl.

Belinda's jaw was set, her eyes narrowed. "I've had enough of this foolishness!" she yelled, holding her hands out. "Freeze!"

Kai stopped the attack, the edge of his blade a hair's width from Belinda's forehead. She rolled onto her stomach before crouching. The red ninja fought to move his body, continue running at least, but he could not.

Belinda now looked like herself; the thick, wavy, red hair now straight and lavender. Laurie's pale skin replaced by Belinda's deep olive tone. Indigo eyes glared at the ninja. "I think it's about time I finished this silly little game" she growled, standing in front of Kai. The goddess watched the way his eyes caught the small amount of light in the room. Her gaze drifted to the cut under his chin. "That's a shame" she sighed, pouting. "I didn't want to hurt your pretty face."

The red ninja could do nothing but watch as the goddess just stared at him. This whole situation was absolutely ridiculous. However, his thoughts continued to drift back to one particular item: what was she going to do with him now?

"You know" Belinda started, leaning back against the window sill. "I was going to kill the boy while you guys were out. _You_ had to ruin my plan though." She anticipated any reaction from the ninja, but then she remembered he could not move. "I was going to blame it on Laurie, the poor dear. How would you have felt if you discovered that the girl you loved killed the only hope of saving Ninjago?"

Kai contemplated the question. He was not sure how he would react to that. This was probably because he knew that Laurie would never do something even close to killing Lloyd. She loved her brother and cared for him deeply. Even if Lloyd had died by Laurie's hand he still would not be able to believe it. Belinda's plan would not have worked anyways.

"Now things have taken a different turn" the goddess continued, she was leaning on Kai's back now, running a thin finger down his armored shoulder. "Would the rest of the ninja believe the fact that Laurie killed you?"

That Laurie would kill him? No, they could not believe that she would do such a thing. They _would_ not believe it, right? Kai was having some doubts in his mind. Lloyd would realize something was amiss. He had already seemed a little suspicious about "Laurie" earlier. No, the guys would know that something was up. Kai could feel Belinda leaning on him and he wished she would stop. The girl sickened him to his core.

Sighing, the goddess walked around the frozen ninja until she was able to look him in the eyes. "Unfortunately for you" she smiled, "I can't kill you. You're very attractive, ninja, and I just can't let you die." Belinda threw her arms around his neck and hugged Kai tightly. "I've never tried this before, but I'll see what happens." She moved the material of the gi away from the ninja's neck and bit down.

Her fangs punctured Kai's skin and he felt a burning sensation. It began at his neck, but slowly traveled downwards. The Fire Ninja was burning on the inside. He felt the venom from the Serpentine deity rushing through his veins. She took a step back, ruffling his hair lightly with her left hand, still stained crimson from the blood she had wiped from her mouth.

Kai fell forward onto the floor, kneeling. "What did you do to me?" he coughed. The burning was in his throat, his arms, everywhere. It was all the red ninja could think about, it consumed his mind.

"I'm not exactly sure" Belinda retorted. "I've never bit anyone before. I figured I'd try it out on you. Hopefully you don't die though. That would be very disappointing." She took a knee next to him, placing a hand on his back. Kai swatted it away before coughing once more. "Fine" the goddess pouted, standing up and crossing her arms. "Have it your way. I'll just be over here, watching what happens."

Burning. The inside of Kai's body was on fire. His mouth felt dry as the sensation spread to his abdomen and his legs. Was he going to die? He could not tell. The coughing was getting worse. He pulled a hand away from his mouth to see tiny droplets of blood. His vision was becoming blurry, his brown eyes watering. The burning was settling in his chest now, concentrated there. Kai felt dizzy and watched as the entirety of the room began to spin around him. One thing was perfectly clear to him though: Belinda. She was sitting on Laurie's bed once more, as Laurie. She gave him a grin, her freckled nose slightly crinkled.

"Don't die" the girl cooed in Laurie's voice.

Kai wanted to punch her, kill her like he should have done immediately after the others had left. With the last bit of energy he could muster, the red ninja began to crawl across the floor. His right hand grasped Laurie's bō staff. It was somewhat comforting, dying with Laurie's weapon in his hand. Kai could not take it anymore; the burning in his chest was too great. The rest of his body had become numb. He closed his eyes slowly and let the darkness claim him.

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**So, what did you think? Was it okay or was I just blowing it out of proportion because I'm a crazy author? Sorry for the cliffhanger there. I felt it was dramatic and necessary! :D**

**What do ****_you_**** think is wrong with Kai? Thanks for reading and stuff because you know I appreciate it.**

**Now I'm off to take a Biology test and then spent the remainder of the day doing math homework and studying for a Chemistry quiz. I feel like I'm on a roll now with this story, but I am writing it out day by day now. Hopefully I will find time, or make time, to write a chapter for a Wednesday update. Unfortunately, studies come first. Please bear with me because I don't want to disappoint you guys! D:  
**


	11. Falling Apart

**Alright. Sorry about the break from this story. Like I said earlier I had a bunch of tests to study for, but it's okay because I did well on all of them. Now, while I'm still doing school work, I'm allowed to pay attention to other things like writing chapters! :D**

**This chapter's focus is shifted away from Kai and more on Laurie. Sorry about that, but don't worry at least some questions will be answered, like "what happened to Laurie while we were gone?" and "what's wrong with Kai?". The middle section is also a flashback, so sorry for the plethora of horizontal lines. So please enjoy.**

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Chapter Eleven: Falling Apart

The room felt quite stuffy. Laurie gazed out of the closed porthole and watched as slate grey storm clouds began to blanket the sky. She leaned her cheek against the cool glass and sighed. Her escape had been anticipated after all. Even when Laurie felt she had had an upper hand on the enemy, it had all just been part of the plan. She recounted the capture with disdain.

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She had turned herself backwards, facing the inside of the cabin while lowering her legs slowly out of the porthole. The wind felt warm and peaceful, causing Laurie to smile. This was her element and it felt welcoming. Nervously, Laurie had glanced around, her ice blue eyes scanning the deck above for any signs of Serpentine. If she could not see them she figured they could not see her.

The dark blue water slapped the hull of the ship and Laurie held her breath. What if she could not do this? Her fingers were beginning to hurt from gripping the metal window frame with fear. "Come on" she whispered to herself, closing her eyes. "You can do this. It's just a little fall and then a swim back to Ninjago". Laurie could feel her hair wrapping around her neck, the wind blowing wildly.

_Make haste. If you wish to truly do this, then you will have to do it soon._

Laurie took in a deep breath. The wind was like an old friend. She looked down once more at the ocean before relinquishing her hold on the frame of the porthole. Falling was an absolutely terrible feeling. The girl's stomach sought refuge in her throat. Laurie closed her eyes tightly and hugged her arms.

Darkness had enveloped the orange ninja when she plunged through the surface of the water. She opened her eyes and gasped, watching as a large bubble of air drifted lazily towards the sky. Her visibility was not the greatest and it seemed that she had actually fallen deeper than she had originally anticipated. The water was cold and Laurie blinked rapidly, the salt overwhelming her eyes. She was blind, or practically blind, but was that the sky coming down to greet her?

That was when Laurie noticed she was rising quickly.

Something was pushing up on her back, she could feel it. Dark shadows were visible around Laurie, but despite herself she could not make out what they were. The shadows seemed to waver and shift, but she could see the lighter water through them. Laurie reached out to grab at a shadow on her right side. It was not a person, but some kind of material; rough and in a square pattern. A net.

Breaking through the surface tension of the salty liquid, Laurie sputtered and coughed. She did not know how long she had been under the water, but there was one very important thing she had forgotten about: air. Taking in a deep breath, the orange ninja watched helplessly as the net encased her, hoisting her upwards towards the deck of the Black Bounty. The Serpentine crew stared in disbelief. Laurie's eyes met a pair of deep ruby irises and she frowned.

Pythor gave a chuckle, pushing past a few Hypnobrai and Fangpyre to reach the edge of the deck. "Well would you look at what we have caught?" he smiled, watching as the ninja tried to sit upright. The girl was fumbling, unable to get off of her back. She leered at the Anacondrai, wiping her dripping red hair away from her face. "Looks too skinny to eat though" he continued, "utterly useless."

Laurie let out an exasperated breath. She had given up trying to shift into a more comfortable position. This was a net, not a plush upholstered sofa. "Pythor!" she yelled, craning her neck to see the purple snake on the deck of the ship. Suddenly, Laurie stopped and thought about the situation. Was she going to demand he let her go? Unlikely, she was the one who had decided to attempt an escape in the first place. Sighing, Laurie closed her mouth and ceased the argument she meant to begin.

"What is going on out here?" Lord Garmadon stormed onto the deck of the Black Bounty, his crimson eyes scanning the gathered group. He found Pythor at the front of the Serpentine and pushed his way towards him. "Pythor, what in Ninjago is…" but the Dark Lord trailed off as he saw his daughter in a net, dangling from a winch that had been hastily strapped to one of the masts.

"How did this get here?" he asked the Anacondrai, referring to the contraption that lay just out of reach above their heads.

Pythor wiggled his way up onto the railing of the ship, using his tail as a way to stay balanced. He extended his reach and grasped where the end of the net met the winch. With a swift yank, the next was free from the machine. "This" Pythor asked innocently, finally addressing Lord Garmadon, "it was recently attached in case we felt like seeing what lived in our oceans." His narrowed gaze drifted to Laurie and he could not help but give a smirk. "It looks to me like your daughter's powers involve water and not air."

Garmadon reached out for the net, grabbing the material with both hands and quickly dragging it aboard. Laurie's back hit the wooden deck hard and she sucked in a breath. Any solid surface was welcomed though. Arms flailing wildly, the teenager managed to free herself from the mesh material of the net, sitting on her legs in front of Lord Garmadon. "Um…hi, father", the orange ninja slowly and awkwardly. The Serpentine closest to her gave a quick chuckle.

"What happened to you?" her father asked, crossing his two pairs of arms. "Did you fall off the deck?"

Laurie frowned. "No, I didn't fall off of the deck" she growled, feeling suddenly self-conscious. Here she was, in her pajamas in front of the entire Black Bounty crew. The black fleece pants were retaining quite a bit of water and clung to her shins desperately. Her red t-shirt was no better. Laurie felt embarrassed and her face quickly turned rosy as her attitude towards her father evaporated. "I jumped out of the porthole in my room. I was trying to go back to Ninjago City" the girl confessed, staring at a knot in the wooden board directly in front of her.

"She most certainly did not" countered the purple snake, moving to stand next to Lord Garmadon. "I saw what happened. The girl is delusional and thought she saw the ninja outside the porthole." His ruby irises drifted to look with Laurie's ice blue ones. He saw how the girl reacted, her mouth dropping in disbelief. "I fear that Belinda may have done this. Removing Laurie's voice and then returning it. Becoming mute, even for a short while, could drive some people mad."

Laurie stood up quickly, her bare feet somewhat sliding on the puddle her saturated clothing had created. "That's a lie, Pythor" she said through clenched teeth. The orange ninja turned her attention towards Lord Garmadon. "Father, he's lying. I'm fine, honestly! I was trying to escape and go back to Ninjago City. The ninja aren't here and they never were!"

The Dark Lord seemed to contemplate both side of the argument, his wavering gaze uncertain. Finally, he turned to Pythor. "Is this true? You really saw it happen?"

"Of course I did, sir" the Anacondrai hissed with a smile.

Laurie's heart dropped. "You can't believe him, father! Pythor is _lying _to you!" She felt completely helpless, worse than her previous predicament. The girl was at a loss for words. Her face fell as a Venomari grabbed her shoulders.

"Take her back to the room and make sure she doesn't harm herself further" Lord Garmadon instructed, his eyes distant and sad. He could not believe that a plan he had created, someone _he_ had enlisted help from, had hurt one of his children.

Without an ounce of fighting spirit left, Laurie allowed some of the Serpentine crew to escort her back to her room.

* * *

It had been almost two days since that had happened. Sighing, Laurie walked back over to the bed and awkwardly knelt on the comforter. Her wrists had been tied behind her back for safety. This way she could not open the door or porthole. Frustrated and tired, the girl flopped forwards, burying her face in the only pillow. She just wanted to sleep. Everything that was happening was so exhausting. Laurie could not remember having a single hour of sleep since the day Belinda kidnapped her. Her eyes closed slowly and she let out a breath.

There was a knock on the door and Laurie groaned, flipping on to her right side. She tried to open her eyes, already puffy and swollen from the thought of sleep. "No, you just stay there I'll come get it" she yelled sarcastically, waiting for the individual on the other side to open the door. Pythor entered the room and shut the door behind him. "You know I couldn't have opened that if I wanted to, right?" Laurie growled. Seeing Pythor right now made her stomach churn. She was in this predicament because of him.

"Just because I'm visiting a mentally unstable prisoner doesn't mean I have to ignore the formalities of privacy" he chuckled, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, whatever" the girl replied, struggling to sit up. Laurie leaned on her right shoulder and pulled her legs in close to her chest. With no momentum, she slipped her right knee upwards and used it as leverage to sit upright. "What do you want?" the red-head sighed. She probably looked just as defeated as she felt.

Pythor slithered over to the porthole and pretended to exam the new lock that had been installed, precautionary in case Laurie escaped her bonds. "Not much" he said sounding bored. "Belinda reported in to me earlier today, said she had an unfortunate run in with a ninja."

"What?" Laurie asked. "Belinda is with the ninja? I thought she was still on the ship."

The Anacondrai gave a small laugh before leaving the porthole and approaching the bed. "Oh you don't know what's going on do you?" Pythor asked condescendingly, leaning on the bed post at the head of the bed. "But let's not go into details on the whole matter."

Laurie clenched her teeth. She could feel her molars grinding against one another, but she did not care. "What's going on, Pythor?" the orange ninja challenged, struggling against her bonds. The rope was chaffing her wrists, the skin becoming bright red and raw.

The purple serpent stared at the girl before turning away and heading towards the center of the room. "Not much has been happening" he sighed, his tail sliding back and forth along the wooden panels of the floor. Pythor had reached the door now, one hand on the knob. "Oh" the Anacondrai said abruptly, slightly turning his head to see Laurie out of the corner of his left eye, "there is one thing that happened. It slipped my mind, please excuse me. That red ninja, I believe he's injured."

Fear and disbelief clawed at Laurie's heart. She felt cold and numb. "What…what…" but the girl could not find anything to say to Pythor. Thoughts were swimming through her head, bombarding the orange ninja's brain. Kai had been injured? What sort of injury was it? Was he doing okay? Was he still alive? The bang of the door closing snapped the girl from her trance and she shimmied off of the bed and ran across the room. "What's wrong with him, Pythor?" Laurie tried to sound threatening, but she could not hide the emotion in her voice.

"Nothing too serious" answered the serpent, his voice muffled by the thick metal. "I believe Belinda said something about a coma?"

A coma? Kai was in a coma? Laurie fell to her knees, the sudden burst of energy now gone. She felt sick and clammy, her head spinning wildly. "No" she whispered to herself, sniffing slightly. She could not cry, not now. That would give Pythor satisfaction. He was trying to break her further, she could feel it. Unfortunately, the tears came anyway, falling down Laurie's cheeks and splattering onto her damp t-shirt.

Laurie fell onto her right side, the floor making contact with her shoulder. It ached terribly, but she payed no attention to it. The orange ninja was fearful for Kai and the unknown. Comas were dangerous. There was always the possibility that he would never wake up. Laurie's hope was dashed and buried. She would never escape and make it back to Ninjago City and it seemed as if the other ninja did not even know she was missing.

The girl closed her eyes tightly, the water still leaking from her tear ducts. Sleep finally came to the red-head, whose world was falling apart.

* * *

**Poor Laurie. I was really sad writing this. :(**

**One funny thing though was that when Laurie was struggling to sit up in bed I wanted it to be realistic, so I laid on my bed with my hands behind my back and tried to get into a sitting position. Ta-da, instant description! XD  
**

**So I guess I'm just going to close my poll now because I feel like it. The name of my new OC is: Rhea. Thanks to everyone who voted and to everyone is reading, writing, reviewing, etc. I appreciate all the support and the patience through my studying period.**

**Oh yeah, one last thing! Xion98 is the coolest person ever and she has drawn both Laurie and Rhea for me and posted them on her DeviantArt account (of the same name). So if you feel like it go check them out because they look amazing. And also look at some of the other cool sketches and drawings she's done. This girl is really awesome. :3**


	12. Suspicions

**Well the picture for this story has been changed to a lovely drawing of everyone's favorite orange ninja. Courtesy of Xion98 of course.**

**This chapter is on the shorter side. I was up at 2:30 writing this because I wanted to be able to update today, but I was having a seriously bad case of writer's block. Try to enjoy what my brain can try to muster during the wee hours of the morning...**

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Chapter Twelve: Suspicions

Cole stared down at his friend with a sad expression. No, Kai was more than just a friend. The red ninja was his _brother_. He wondered if this could have been prevented by just staying in the apartment. The group had been unable to locate any Serpentine anyways. Cole sighed, rubbing a hand across his face. Nya was kneeling next to the bed that Kai lay on, her shoulders shaking slightly from her silent tears. The actual sound of crying had ceased an hour ago. Jay crouched down next to the samurai, a hand on her shoulder.

"Everything's going to be okay, Nya" the blue ninja said softly, trying to console the girl he loved. She gazed up at him with swollen, red eyes. The tears that had been running down her face were dried, but the trail they left behind shined slightly in the low light. Nya threw her arms around Jay's neck, laying her head on his shoulder. Closing his eyes, the blue ninja returned the embrace, patting Kai's sister on the back slowly. "He's going to wake up eventually. Kai's too stubborn to let something like this stop him."

The sound of something shuffling caught Cole's attention. He turned away from Kai and saw Lloyd pacing feverishly across the room. Back and forth the green ninja walked, his feet barely clearing the wooden panels of the floor. His attention was miles away, his eyes focused solely on the ground. "Lloyd, what's up?" the black ninja asked.

Lloyd looked up suddenly, his eyes on his sister and not the ninja leader. She was sitting on her bed, knees up to her chin. Zane sat next to Laurie, a hand on her shoulder. The green ninja stared at the girl, feeling like something was off. He rushed the orange bed, jumping on to the comforter and causing the two current occupants to frown.

"That was not very nice, Lloyd" the nindroid chastised, scooting over to make room for the child next to his sibling. "Now is not the time for fun and games. This is a very serious matter."

"Yeah, seriously" Laurie piped in, sniffing, "I'm not in the mood right now." She looked at Lloyd Garmadon with her sad eyes. If only she were alone with him right now, it would be so easy to just kill the pipsqueak. The goddess mentally cursed herself for underestimating Kai. His keen eyes had ruined everything she had been trying to plan. Laurie's gaze drifted towards the red ninja. His face held no expression and his chest rose softly before falling. It looked like he was just taking a nap.

A finger in her left arm caused Laurie to turn back towards Lloyd. "Hey don't ignore me!" whined the green ninja, lifting his index finger before poking his sister again.

The goddess took in a deep breath, trying to control herself. This child was annoying and persistent, but she had to play her part. With a small smile, she turned towards the young boy. "I won't ignore you, just please stop." Much to her relief Lloyd stopped poking her arm. "Now what do you want?"

Lloyd locked the fingers on both hands together and placed them behind his head, leaning back against the wall slightly. "I just wanna talk about what happened is all."

Before the girl could speak, Zane interrupted. "Lloyd, we all know what happened. Laurie told us, remember? Belinda came to take your sister back, Kai tried to fight her, and then Belinda bit him and fled." The white ninja's eyes met Laurie's and she gave a small nod, confirming the story.

"That doesn't make sense though" Lloyd complained, forcing out a breath. He watched Laurie react to his statement, her eyes narrowing slightly. Yes, something was definitely off about this whole situation, but the boy could not place a finger on what it was. Well, not yet.

"What doesn't make sense about it?" Laurie challenged, crossing her arms. This child, this useless child, was _not_ going to ruin her plans any further. She would bite him too if she needed to, just not in front of the others. "I was _there_, Lloyd. I saw what happened."

The green ninja gave a small yawn, noticing that he now had Cole's attention as well. "Why would Belinda leave without you?" asked Lloyd, his voice sounding genuinely curious. "If she was able to defeat Kai so easily there should have been nothing stopping her from taking you back to dad."

Every muscle in the goddess's body tensed up. How could she have been so blind? Her very own fabrication had been analyzed, the Achilles heel revealed. Belinda cursed herself for being so careless with the information she presented. She resorted to the only thing she could think of: crying.

The red-head gave a loud sniff before burying her head in her hands and sobbing. "I don't know, Lloyd. Does it really matter right now? All I know is that Belinda left after she bit Kai. I'm trying to deal with the fact that he's in a coma right now, so can you please just leave me alone?"

Lloyd raised an eyebrow before sliding off of the bed slowly. "Sorry, sis" he mumbled under his breath, leaving to go stand next to Kai. The green ninja frowned as he looked down at his friend. Never had he seen Kai look so helpless. With a close inspection, the child was able to see the two puncture wounds on the red ninja's neck. The skin was still red and slightly swollen. Here was the evidence that Belinda had bitten him, but then why did something about the entire scenario seem off? He had originally thought that this had nothing to do with Belinda at all, but that was clearly not the case.

A hand on his shoulder brought Lloyd back from his thoughts. It was Nya, her face forlorn but kind. "Everything's going to be okay" she said, attempting to give a smile. "Your sister just needs time to herself right now. It must have been traumatic watching this happen and not being able to do anything about it."

Watching it happen? That was it! Why would Laurie have just step back and watch as Kai tried to fight off Belinda? His sister cared too much about Kai to let him fight her battles. She was probably just as stubborn as the red ninja. Lloyd's emerald eyes fell upon his sister's bō staff that hung above her bed on the wall. When they had returned home to find Kai the weapon was in his hand. Why would he have fought Belinda with Laurie's weapon?

"Lloyd, are you okay?" the samurai asked, concern obvious in her voice.

He looked up at her quickly. "Sorry, Nya" the green ninja apologized. "Yeah, I'm fine. You're right, Laurie just needs some time alone right now." With that, the child crossed the room and went to sit upon his own bed, thoughts still floating through his mind.

Laurie. Something about the situation did not add up and it had to do with her. Lloyd watched as his sister continued to cry, her red hair falling around her face, concealing it from everyone else. "You're not telling me something" he whispered to himself softly, "but I'm going to find out what you're hiding…"

* * *

**So, yeah, nothing was really accomplished at all. Just wanted to check back in with Kai and the ninja. A sleepy brain makes for a slow chapter. I just now realized that this is going to be longer than Shifting Winds and that actually makes me happy considering I thought this story was going to go nowhere fast. I feel somewhat accomplished...**

**Thanks to everyone who is reading, reviewing, etc. I will always appreciate you and tell you how much I appreciate you: a lot. Oh, and if you find any spelling or grammar errors that Microsoft Word missed, please PM me because my brain tends to make lots of mistakes at 2:30 in the morning. Thanks!**


	13. Bleak Future

**Update time. Whenever I get an idea for a new chapter I try to make it as long as possible now, so I hope that this doesn't drag on because there really isn't a lot to it.**

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Chapter Thirteen: Bleak Future

_The sprawling desert was now a battle field. Serpentine leapt over the side of the Black Bounty that now sat idly in the sand. Cole carried a lifeless Kai on his back, struggling to keep pace with the others. Zane and Jay flanked their leader while Lloyd ran ahead. "Lloyd, stop!" Cole called out, beginning to lose the grip on his friend's arms. The black ninja dropped to his knees to prevent Kai from falling off._

_"No, I won't stop!" the young boy shouted back, his gait quickening. "I won't stop until I find a way to cure Kai". A Fangpyre lunged at the green ninja, but Lloyd side-stepped the attack successfully and continued his trek towards the Black Bounty._

_Cole struggled to get to his feet, noticing that a group of Serpentine was closing in. "Guys, we need to keep moving, but we have some company". Zane turned to see a Constrictai approaching the black ninja from behind, his tail wrapping around Kai's neck. The nindroid jumped forward, landing a blow to the snake's face. The serpent sputtered, stumbling backwards and relinquishing his hold on the red ninja. "Thanks, Zane" Cole grunted, finally able to stand._

_A Hypnobrai ran towards the group, his eyes glowing red. Jay crouched, holding his right leg out straight and spinning in a circle. The snake tripped over the blue ninja and fell to the sand. With a smirk, Jay sent a hard kick to the Serpentine's back and watched as he fell limp. Breathing somewhat heavy, Jay looked around and saw still more Serpentine approaching. He took a few steps backwards until his back hit something else._

_Zane turned around, his eyes meeting Jay's. "It seems that we are in quite the predicament" he frowned, watching as Cole backed up as well. The black ninja crouched down and slid Kai off of his back, laying him down on the sand. With a knowing look, Zane and Jay helped Cole form a barrier around their comatose friend._

_"We have to try and protect him" Cole said, ducking as a Venomari spit at him. With a scowl, the black ninja thrust his fist into the serpent's jaw and watched as he stumbled backwards, knocking some other foes over like a domino._

_"Yeah, okay" the blue ninja breathed, kicking a Fangpyre in the chest. "That's great, but what if we can't even protect ourselves?"_

_A soft melody floated on the breeze, seemingly stunning the Serpentine. They threw their hands up to their heads, screaming in pain. "Hopefully this will be able to hold them off for a little while" the nindroid stated, fiddling with the switches inside of the compartment on his arm._

_Jay visibly relaxed, his gaze drifting towards the Black Bounty. He could make out Lloyd, fighting with a couple of Constrictai. Suddenly, a Hypnobrai grabbed him from behind. The green ninja struggled and kicked backwards, fighting to free himself. "Lloyd's in trouble. We have to go help him!" he stated urgently, flinging his arms backwards for emphasis. He hit Cole in the face with his left arm and Zane's arm with his other. The compartment the white ninja had opened snapped closed and the Serpentine advanced quickly. "Oops…"_

_Cole rubbed his nose and tried to stay focused. The situation seemed hopeless, but he could not afford to think that way. There seemed to be no escape from the approaching villains, but he would fight with every last ounce of strength he could muster. He knew that Jay and Zane would do the same. The black ninja gazed up at the blood red sky, watching as the clouds swirled._

_A scream filled the air._

_The three ninja turned their attention away from the serpents and towards the Black Bounty. It was difficult to make out, but two figures were visible. One stood in the crow's nest atop the main mast of the vessel, leaning on the railing. The other individual was kicking wildly, gripping at the wooden structure; her red hair barely discernible from the sky. Belinda laughed and, with no sign of remorse, pushed Laurie's hands off of the railing. The orange ninja tumbled downwards and the world almost seemed to stop when the ninja heard the sickening smack of her body making contact with the ship's deck._

* * *

Sensei Wu opened his eyes and gasped. He could not recall having that vivid of a vision since he foresaw his own demise at the hands of the Great Devourer. Shakily standing, the elderly man grabbed his wooden walking stick. The smoke in the room was slowly dissipating. Sensei Wu bowed to Dareth before making his way to the door of the dojo. "Thank you for allowing me to utilize your dojo on such short notice" Wu smiled.

"Don't worry about it" Dareth replied, placing his right hand on his hip. "The brown ninja would do anything for his Sensei".

Seemingly ignoring the comment from the dojo owner, Sensei Wu left the building and began to walk down the street. The stars were barely visible in Ninjago City, hundreds of neon lights drowning them out. Wu never really felt at home in the big city, he preferred more rural areas. They reminded him of better times, growing up with Garmadon before he was bitten by the Great Devourer. The elderly man traversed the blocks quickly, approaching the door to the apartment.

He entered the room to see everyone quiet. The atmosphere of the home had been solemn for the past couple of days. His pupils had not felt like training since they had discovered Kai when they came home from their Serpentine search. Sensei Wu closed the wooden door and slowly walked towards Cole. "Any sign of improvement?" he asked.

Cole shook his head. "No, sensei" the leader replied, crossing his arms. The black ninja looked at his teacher. A question had been burning in his mind for the past two hours and he was finally able to ask it. "Sensei, is there a tea that could possibly heal Kai?"

Wu's face fell and he stroked his long beard. "Unfortunately there is not a tea for every situation, Cole" he replied sadly, placing a hand on his student's shoulder. "I'm sorry".

"Wait, so there is a tea that allows for inter-dimensional travel and one that ages things, but there's not a tea that could help someone come out of a coma?" Jay asked with a raised eyebrow. "That's just really weird."

Lloyd hopped off of his bed, rushing towards Sensei Wu. "Uncle, did you see anything in the Spirit Smoke about Kai?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.

Sensei Wu had been spending more time than usual at Dareth's dojo, searching for answers in the Spirit Smoke. Kai's future looked somewhat bleak, every small vision involving him comatose and motionless. Something else was wrong though. Wu found that he could not find specifics on the future of his niece. Even her location was uncertain to him, odd considering he knew that she was back with her ninja family. He did not wish to reveal the specifics of his latest vision, fearing it would lower his student's spirits further.

"In my visions Kai is still in a coma". The elderly man noticed Nya lower her head. "I'm sorry".

Laurie raised her head slightly, staring at Sensei Wu. "Hey" she sniffed, "did you see anything about a possible cure? Anything you could possibly remember?"

"Well" Garmadon's brother started, adjusting his hat slightly "my vision did involve the Black Bounty. Lloyd seemed convinced that a cure for Kai lay within the confines of the vessel".

The Black Bounty? No, they could not go to the Bounty, not yet. The goddess had not completed the first portion of Pythor's plan. She had to kill Lloyd before the ninja discovered that she was not really Laurie. Heading towards the Black Bounty would spell disaster. She would have to pull the plug on her charade. "The Black Bounty?" Laurie asked slowly, scooting off of her bed to stand. "Why would we head there? That's where my dad is and Belinda would be there too! We'd be playing right into their hands."

"No, we need to go check it out" Lloyd argued, narrowing his eyes at his sister. "If a cure for Kai is on the Bounty than we have to go there!" The green ninja felt angry. It almost seemed as if Laurie did not care about Kai. She was being selfish, not acting like herself. If she did not want to head to the vessel than he wanted to travel there even more. Maybe he would find the answers he was seeking involving the struggle that led to Kai being bitten. Laurie was still hiding something, he knew it.

"I agree with Lloyd" Zane piped in. "We must do everything in our power to help get Kai back to his old self. If that means possibly placing ourselves in danger then so be it".

Belinda needed to put a stop to this. If anyone else began agreeing with Lloyd she was sunk. She would have no choice but to follow them and play along. Control over this situation was quickly slipping through her pale fingers. "My father summoned Belinda to bring Lloyd and me back to him, remember? Like I said, we would be playing right into his hands! Do you want that?"

Cole couched down next to Kai, grabbing the red ninja's arms. Pulling, the black ninja gripped Kai's wrists and dragged them forward until his friend rested securely on his back. "Well, if we're going to go then we should probably start heading out now" the leader smiled, holding on to Kai's arms. He caught Nya grinning and grabbing Jay's hand excitedly. "Seems to me like everyone wants to go, so let's go."

"But...but…" Laurie sputtered desperately. This could not happen. This _would_ not happen. Her scheme had been ruined once before and she would not have them ruined again. However, she still had the ninja's trust. Perhaps she could play along with this plan, for now.

Jay just looked at Laurie. "I'm pretty sure we could protect you if anything funny happens" he chuckled. "I mean, we _are_ ninja and so are you!"

"Yeah, you're a ninja too, Laurie" Lloyd smirked, hopping onto his sister's bed and grabbing her weapon from the rack above. With one swift movement he threw the staff and watched as Laurie fumbled to catch it.

Sensei Wu had an ominous feeling overwhelm him. As much as he wished he could protect his students it almost seemed as if he was the one that was sending them into danger. What if he was the one that had set the events that transpired in his vision in motion? The elderly man hoped that this was not the case. "Alright, you should move then."

* * *

**Belinda is totally sunk. :3**

**Minor story progression; trying to keep it interesting since this story is longer than I originally anticipated. Why does my brain do this to me? XD**

**Thank you to everyone. I love reading your reviews, I read every single one, and I appreciate all of the continued support! :)**


	14. Double Vision

**Time for an update. I'm up a little earlier than usual this morning because I'm doing some last minute review for this exam I'm taking in about an hour. I feel pretty prepared for it, but you never know what could happen. Alright, hope you enjoy this chapter. :)**

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Chapter Fourteen: Double Vision

"I don't think this is a good idea" Laurie stated, her eyes wide. She stood among the other ninja and gazed up at the Black Bounty that was extremely contrasted against the bright blue sky. The ship drifted lazily, allowing the heroes to catch up to it. The goddess held the bō staff awkwardly in her right hand. She was constantly hitting Lloyd with the weapon. Though it was on accident she did not care to stop. The brat was toying with her, utterly obnoxious.

The green ninja could not wipe the smirk off of his face. Laurie's bō staff made contact with his left arm once more, but he ignored it. The Bounty lingered ahead of them, its aesthetics drastically changed from when they had possession of it: a dark maroon hull with black sails. A ship fit for his dad. All of the answers he sought lay just ahead of him. Was there really a cure for Kai? What was up with his sister? Lloyd was ready to discover the answers. He surged forward quickly.

"Don't get too excited, kid" Cole warned, his gait somewhat slower than the rest of the group. He would stop occasionally to make sure Kai was not falling off of his back. The black ninja felt incomplete without his scythe, but Jay was currently carrying that for him. "As much as we want to just bust in there, we need a plan".

Leave it to Cole to be extremely cautious in a drastic situation. "Come on, Cole" the child whined, looking back over his shoulder to see the team leader slightly frowning. "Let's just go right in there and kick some butt!" Without looking where he was going, Lloyd tripped over his own feet and fell to the ground. Sand adorned his blonde hair and he spit the rough material out of his mouth. "Yuck…"

Jay gave a small chuckle before taking a knee next to the green ninja. "This is why we try and plan things out" the blue ninja smiled. "We don't want to rush into things because the situation could turn out messy."

Lloyd jumped to his feet, feeling slightly embarrassed. "Ninja recover!" he yelled, thrusting a fist into the air. The other ninja gave stifled laughs while Nya giggled wildly. Lloyd glanced over at Laurie who just glared at him. Her gaze seemed positively evil, and the child's eyes widened. Never had he seen his sister look at him like that. It scared him. Jay brought the green ninja back to reality, ruffling his hair before leaving to stand next to the samurai.

"So, does anybody have a plan?" prompted Zane, opening the compartment located on his left arm to turn off his funny switch. "I believe I may have constructed one, but I do not know if any of you will like it." His serious gaze fell upon both Lloyd and Laurie. "It is slightly risky and the odds of it succeeding are not extremely high."

The goddess tensed up. She did not like the way that the robot looked at her. Obviously this plan of his involved her and she was not looking forward to hearing the part she would play in it. Hopefully Pythor would understand why she had not been able to kill Lloyd Garmadon. She had not had any opportune moment to carry out the plan. No, she still had to pretend that she was, indeed, Laurie for the entirety of the scheme to work correctly. "What's the plan, Zane" she asked the white ninja, digging the bottom of her weapon into the sand.

"Well" the nindroid began "I believe it would be most efficient to just allow Lloyd and Laurie to explore the Bounty. They _are_ the target of Belinda and she would not miss the opportunity to take them both. While they are on the vessel they can search for any cure that could be aboard." Zane noticed Laurie's blue eyes widen in horror. "I sense you do not approve of this plan, Laurie?"

Of course she did not approve of the plan. She could not go on the ship! That would spell absolute disaster. Belinda mentally calmed down in order to think. She was a _goddess_. If anything went wrong she could just subdue the ninja. This would compromise her position as Laurie, but it would not matter. No, it _did _matter. The whole point of Pythor's plan was to dispose of both the Garmadon siblings. With Lloyd dead and Laurie unable to be trusted, Pythor would have no problem overthrowing Lord Garmadon and taking over Ninjago.

"You want us to be _bait_?" Laurie stressed, somewhat annoyed. "I told you earlier that this is exactly what they want…"

"As much as I agree with Laurie, I think you're right, Zane" Cole sighed. "This plan seems like the most reasonable way to get inside." The leader turned towards the red-head and gave a smile. "You can do this you know. If anything goes wrong you have Lloyd with you. The two of you will need to look out for one another." He directed his attention to Lloyd now. "If you find anything just give a signal, anything you want to."

Lloyd gave the black ninja a bored look. "How would I give you guys a signal if I'm on the ship and you're out here?"

A shrill cry echoed through the empty air. It was not of human origin though. Zane's falcon descended from the sky quickly, making its way towards the group. The bird flapped its wings wildly, slowing its travels, before landing gently on the white ninja's outstretched arm. "My falcon friend will be flying around the ship periodically to keep an eye on you. If you can give the signal while he is making his rounds than we will come to you."

"Alright" Lloyd smiled, pulling his green mask down over his face. "Let's do this!" He turned towards his sister who did not look pleased with this plan. "Come on, Laurie" Lloyd sighed. "I'll protect you from Belinda."

The goddess had to force herself not to smile. Little Lloyd was going to protect her from Belinda? Highly unlikely. It was the situations like these though that made the charade of being someone else absolutely worthwhile. "Thanks" Laurie nodded, looking genuinely appreciative. As soon as they were both safely upon the Black Bounty the boy was as good as dead.

With a small wave, the Garmadon siblings turned towards the ship and began their trek across the sand. "If we talk the trip will go by faster" Lloyd smiled, dodging Laurie's bō staff. "So" the boy started, quickening his pace slightly, "what do you think we're gonna find when we get on the ship?"

"I don't know" Laurie sighed, wishing that the boy would just stay quiet. It was almost if the sound of his voice was giving her a headache. "Hopefully it will be a cure for Kai though. I can't stand to see him like this." The goddess actually hoped that she would be able to subdue the green ninja and take care of him before he could find his sister. That was absolutely imperative.

The distance between the Bounty and the ninja was growing shorter quickly. Within twenty minutes the two arrived at the side of the ship. Lloyd pushed his back against the hull, slinking along the side with his arms outstretched. The anchor lay close by, the prongs of it buried into the soft sand. "Come on, Laurie" the green ninja whispered, edging towards the chain attached to the anchor. "We can use this to climb up."

Belinda watched as Lloyd grabbed on to the metal chain and gave it a swift tug. With all of his strength, the boy shimmied up towards the deck of the ship. Wishing she could just teleport on to the ship, the goddess reluctantly followed the youngest Garmadon with disdain. Both of them landed on the wooden deck of the ship softly. Belinda caught a Venomari staring at her and she quickly froze him before he could interfere with anything. "Where to now?" she asked Lloyd, glad that he was facing away from.

"I'm not sure" the green ninja replied. "Maybe we should check some of the inner cabins for anything that could be used to help Kai."

Something cracked him in the back of the head and Lloyd stumbled forwards, falling to his knees. Rubbing the back of his skull with his right hand, the boy rose to his feet and turned around to see Laurie grinning, the end of her bō staff stained red. Lloyd pulled his hand away from his head slowly. The black glove that adorned it was stained a dark maroon. Without a second thought, Lloyd ran.

He ducked inside the doorway that led to the main hallway of the vessel. Laurie's footsteps were audible behind him, but the green ninja did not look back. Why would she hurt him? This just did not make any sense. Was she being controlled? Was that why she did not help Kai when he was attacked at the apartment? Lloyd stopped suddenly, throwing his sister off guard. He kicked her in the chest and watched as she fell on to her back, growling. With urgency, the boy tried the nearest doorknob, shaking it wildly.

It was locked.

Running farther away, Lloyd decided on another hallway. He had never been too good with the layout of the Bounty, but he hoped that this was near the control room. There had always been a small cabinet full of weapons in the control room. He could fight off his sister long enough to give the falcon a signal. The others would quickly come afterwards. Another door was coming up on his right. Lloyd stopped to try the doorknob. This one was also locked. Frustrated, the green ninja held his palms together and quickly spread them apart, a ball of green energy forming in his hands. With a small grunt of effort he launched the energy at the metal door. It burst off of its hinges.

"What's going on?" called out a familiar voice. The explosion of energy, metal, and wood had caused a small cloud of smoke to form. Lloyd coughed as he entered the room, waving a hand in front of his face to try and dissipate the smoke faster. It was not working. Blind, the green ninja stumbled forwards until a hand grabbed his shoulder and yanked him backwards.

"Got you now" his sister hissed in his ear. The young boy coughed and watched as the smoke began to fade from sight. There was someone else in the room. A girl with red hair sat on a bed, her hands tied behind her back. She was dressed in pajamas that Lloyd recognized and he stared at her ice blue eyes, watching as they widened.

Lloyd looked back at his captor. The girl held a wicked smile upon her freckled face. Frizzy red hair stuck out in all directions, some of the strands stuck to her face with sweat. Her blue eyes held nothing but malice. Breathing quickly, the green ninja could feel his head spinning. It was not from the blow he had taken though. The boy was just confused and disoriented.

He was standing in between his sister and his sister.

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**I wanted this to be kind of dramatic and I hope I got that feeling right. I don't know, I wanted Lloyd to be the one to discover Belinda's secret since I've kind of been making him suspicious of "Laurie" for a few chapters now. It seemed fitting. :3**

**I can't wait to write the next chapter, but I want to finish my final paper for a class first. If there's no update tomorrow morning that's because I'm still not finished with this dang paper yet. Writing for my fic is like a reward for myself. When I get important things done I get to write. XD**

**Thanks to everyone who is reviewing and reading. I will always appreciate it forever. And a little shout out to Xion98 because when I had Lloyd trip in the beginning of the chapter I decided to write about it in a more comedic style so I could fit "ninja recover" in there. XD**


	15. Tough Decisions

**Late update today, sorry. I had awful writer's block plus some algebra homework. Unfortunately this chapter is a little on the shorter side even though I tried to make it as long as I could. The subject matter in it is kind of repetitive so I didn't want to drag it on too long. Hope you enjoy.**

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Chapter Fifteen: Tough Decisions

Laurie could not move. Everything had just happened so quickly: the explosion, the voices, and now the people standing in the room with her. Lloyd looked just as confused as she felt, his head whipping around to compare the two girls. "I don't…" the orange ninja started to say, but the thought trailed off. "Lloyd, what are you doing here?"

The green ninja stared at his sister. She looked absolutely exhausted and quite a bit thinner. Dark circles were beginning to form underneath her eyes, contrasted greatly against her fair skin. He looked behind him at his sister who looked extremely healthy. This one was acting a little psychotic right now though. Lloyd tried to pull away from Laurie, but she held him back.

"You can't get away from me that easily" she laughed, dropping the bō staff on to the ground and grabbing Lloyd with both hands.

"Laurie, what's going on?" the boy asked desperately, squirming in his sister's grip. Wait, was this really his sister or was the other one his sister? This was all just so confusing. "Who's Laurie?"

"I'm Laurie" they both answered simultaneously. Laurie gazed at the girl who was currently holding her brother. She still could not fathom why she was staring at herself. "Lloyd, _I'm_ your sister. I've been here on the Black Bounty for days. Belinda kidnapped me and brought me here."

This was not going well. The goddess released her hold on the boy and watched as he tumbled to the floor. Maybe she could use this situation to her advantage. If she could convince Lloyd that she was the real Laurie then she could enlist his help to take down the real one. Then she would kill him of course, but this seemed to be working in her favor. "No, Lloyd" the girl stressed, sounding on the verge of tears, "_I'm_ the real Laurie. I'm sorry that I hurt you. I wasn't myself and I couldn't control my actions."

What in Ninjago was going on? Lloyd crawled away from the Laurie that had just been detaining him and stood in the middle of the room. Which one was really his sister? As much as it pained him to think it, he just could not tell. The one that had attacked him seemed sorry and remorseful. It was possible she was being controlled and this would not have been the first time she had attacked him against her will. His thoughts drifted back to when Zane had informed him of his close encounter with death; a death that was almost bestowed upon the green ninja by his sister, under the control of Skales.

Once more, Lloyd glanced over at the Laurie on the bed. She seemed so fearful and run-down. Could that really be his sister? Maybe it was not, considering the condition she was in. If this was a trick he felt that the weaker and feebler Laurie would be the obvious choice to pick. He cared about his sister very much and whoever had set this up most likely knew that. What if that was actually her though? His mind was spinning and Lloyd could feel a slight headache revealing itself.

"Lloyd, please just listen to me". Laurie awkwardly moved across the comforter on the bed. When she attempted to stand she collapsed to the floor. The girl gave a cough and felt a wave of sickness overwhelm her stomach. She was so weak from just laying around the Bounty. Pythor had not been giving her sustenance liker her father thought he was. Laurie could not remember the last time she had eaten. Was it almost two days ago? "Lloyd, please untie my hands. I'll help you try to figure out what's going on here."

Almost as if he were in a trance, the young boy knelt down beside the girl. She lay flat on her stomach, bound hands visible on her back. The green ninja could see small rings of scabs encircling his sister's wrists. She had been in this position for a while. "I'll help you" Lloyd smiled, reaching to grab for the knotted rope.

He was yanked backwards, hanging in the air by the material of his gi. The green ninja glanced backwards and saw his sister, well it _could_ be his sister, staring at him with wide eyes. "You can't do that!" she said flustered, placing Lloyd back on the ground. "What if she tried to attack you once you helped her?" The goddess watched as the young boy contemplated what she was saying. Lloyd was foolish and easily manipulated. She could make him believe that she was his sister. Belinda gazed over Lloyd's head, smiling to show her fangs.

Laurie's eyes widened as she saw the other her give a wicked grin, a grin that was all too familiar. "Lloyd, listen to me!" the orange ninja pleaded. "That's Belinda! She's not your sister, I am. Please untie my hands!" The situation was getting desperate. Laurie had to get Lloyd to believe her.

"Belinda?" the green ninja asked, turning to face the Laurie behind him. She seemed frightened, the color draining quickly from her face. Lloyd looked at her carefully. There was not a possibility that this was Belinda. This was Laurie: her red hair, freckled face, and blue eyes. It could not be Belinda, right?

"She's lying" the girl sniffed, tears forming in her eyes. "Maybe _she's_ Belinda! You told me when we were coming here that you would protect me from Belinda. Are you going to break that promise?" The goddess knew she had hit a nerve. There was no way the child would doubt her now. Everything was playing out just like she wanted.

Lloyd turned back towards the Laurie on the floor. No, that was not Laurie. His sister was standing behind him. "Stop trying to trick me!" he yelled, placing his palms together.

Her brother was glaring at her. Never had she seen her brother hold such hatred for anything before. Laurie could feel the energy building up like an electric charge through the room. Every hair on her body seemed to stand on end. She had failed to convince Lloyd that she was, indeed, his sister.

"Lloyd…please…" the orange ninja breathed. Her muscles tightened against her will, bracing for the impact she knew was coming. The glowing green orb in the young boy's hands was about the size of a watermelon now. He held it steady.

There was a gentle hand on Lloyd's shoulder. He turned to see his sister looking at him with a kind expression. "I know it's hard to do this" she sighed, "because she looks like me, but I believe in you, Lloyd." The green ninja nodded and turned back towards the task at hand. Belinda gave Laurie a wide smirk and mouthed the words "I win".

Laurie did not even attempt to fight back. How could she? There was no way she could bring herself to ever hurt her brother. The rope binding the orange ninja's wrists had never felt so solid and sturdy. Trying to blink back salty tears, Laurie gave a small smile. "I'm sorry, Lloyd" she sniffed, closing her eyes.

Even behind her eyelids Laurie could see a bright flash of green light. Then there was nothing.

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**I love writing cliffhangers. They're just so much fun. :3**

**Again, sorry about how short it was compared to some of the past few chapters. Going to try and update tomorrow before I drive home for Thanksgiving break. Hope you all liked this! :D**


	16. Usual Tricks

**Sorry for not updating in the past few days. I have had absolutely awful writer's block until I had a dream last night that actually turned into this chapter. My parabatai decided on the name for the chapter too because I couldn't think of one. Please enjoy. :3**

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Chapter Sixteen: Usual Tricks

There was someone behind her, fiddling with something. Laurie did not open her eyes, scared of what she might find. Wait though; she could feel someone behind her. That meant that she was still alive. For the first time in over three days Laurie's arms fell to her side. Cautiously, the orange ninja opened one eye.

The hallway had been significantly expanded; the wall opposite of the room Laurie was currently sitting in had been blown away. Belinda lay in a pile of wood and rubble, utterly motionless. She looked like herself now and not Laurie. A long, bloody scratch ran from the corner of her right eye and curved down over her cheek and lip.

"Can you stand?" Lloyd asked, tapping Laurie on the shoulder.

Laurie turned around slowly, opening her other eye. Her brother stood in front of her, a smile pulling at the edge of his lips. Lloyd was twirling the rope that had been binding Laurie's wrists. Slowly and carefully, the orange ninja stood. Her legs were somewhat shaky, but she lunged for her brother and pulled him into a hug. "What just happened?" Laurie asked, confused and slightly angry.

The green ninja sounded bored as he answered. "Um…I blew up Belinda" Lloyd stated matter-of-factly. The embrace ended and the young boy could not help but give his sister a wide grin. "I knew it was you the entire time" he chuckled, watching as Laurie's face fell. Then she narrowed her eyes.

"You knew the entire time?" she growled, crossing her arms over her chest. One of the scabs on her wrist rubbed against the material of her t-shirt and opened up, a little bit of blood smearing along her skin. "Ouch" Laurie said, sucking in a breath. Being a prisoner was not fun and these wounds were a consequence. Hopefully they would heal within a few days.

Lloyd just shrugged his shoulders. "Well, no, I didn't know the entire time. Belinda's eyes looked different, but I didn't really notice at first." He gave his sister a smile before bursting out into a fit of laughter. She narrowed her ice blue eyes and tapped her foot hurriedly on the ground. Clearing his throat, the green ninja ceased his laughter and tried to muster a serious expression. This turned into another fit of laughter. "Sorry" he apologized, his breathing uneven from the chuckles, "it's just that only _you_ would apologize for absolutely nothing right before you were about to die. I thought 'well, _that_ _one_ is my sister'".

With a small smile, Laurie gave Lloyd a playful punch to the shoulder. "Wait, how's Kai?" she suddenly asked, her eyes full of fear. "Is he alive? Is he okay? Are you here by yourself?"

"Calm down, sis" Lloyd said with a stern face. "I'm not here by myself. The others are waiting outside somewhere". His gaze landed on the porthole in the room. With a burst of energy, the green ninja ran towards it. Then he noticed the padlock. Though he knew it would not work, the boy tugged on it with all of his might, hoping to break the mechanism. Zane's falcon sailed past the glass and Lloyd waved his arms wildly. "Hey" he called out, "go get the ninja! Please, hurry". The bird switched its course, using a tailwind to head back in the direction it had come from.

Laurie's eyes rested on her bō staff which had rolled into the corner of the room after Belinda had dropped it. She crossed the floor and picked it up gingerly, twirling the weapon around in her right hand. It had been so long since Laurie had seen her bō staff, and she gave a small smile. Despite her predicament and lack of strength, the orange ninja's weapon gave her confidence. She could handle anything that was thrown at her. Lloyd turned around and Laurie leaned on her weapon, gaze serious. "You didn't answer me about Kai".

"Look, Laurie, Kai's still in a coma" the green ninja answered, crossing his arms over his chest. "That's why we came to the Bounty. Uncle said that he had a vision of us looking for a cure for Kai here. I thought it would be a good idea to start the search here".

"So you guys didn't even know I was missing?" Laurie asked, her expression forlorn. She had suffered through so much while on the Black Bounty. If the others had noticed she was missing they could have saved her earlier. No, there was no need to think that way. Lloyd and the ninja were here now and that was all that mattered.

Lloyd leaned back against the wall and sighed. "Belinda looked like you the entire time! We didn't think you were missing because we thought you were there with us." Footsteps were audible on the floor above. The green ninja looked up at the ceiling, though he knew he would not see anything. "We need to get moving, sis" he said quickly, moving towards the hole in the wall.

The orange ninja gripped her bō staff with both hands and nodded. Now that she understood some of what had occurred while she was gone, Laurie felt some of the stress leave her body. "Alright" the girl breathed, "let's go."

"Maybe we should split up" Lloyd suggested, peeking down the hallway. It was empty and he let out a small breath. "The others are probably on board or almost on board. If we split up we can find them faster." He noticed the hesitation in his sister's eyes. "I know it's not the greatest plan in the world, but the faster we find everyone else the faster we can regroup."

Laurie saw the confidence in Lloyd's face, the confidence he had in this plan and himself. It seemed as if he was maturing quickly, preparing for the day he would defeat their father in battle. "Okay" she said reluctantly, pushing a few strands of red hair behind her left ear. "I don't like it, but I'll agree to this."

With a smile, the boy nodded his head and made a right down the hallway, continuing the path he had originally started taking when he entered the ship. Laurie watched as her brother disappeared around a bend and she decided to start looking in the opposite direction. She gripped the bō staff tightly, feeling her fingers cramp up slightly. It seemed like every step she took on the wooden floor echoed throughout the entirety of the vessel. What if she was caught again? No, there was no time to think of such things.

An intersection lay just ahead of the orange ninja and she inched forward slowly, holding her breath. Quickly, Laurie leaned her head around the wall, peeking around the corner. There was no one there. Relaxing and letting out the air in her lungs, the girl made a right down the hallway. The audible, rhythmic thumping of her footsteps against the floor was slightly unnerving. She continued to think she was being followed, only to turn around and find nothing behind her. Inhaling deeply, the girl attempted to calm herself down.

The hallway seemed to be endless. Laurie could see where it took yet another turn, but it felt as if she was not getting any closer. There seemed to be a noise coming from somewhere that she had not heard previously. The orange ninja's heart began to palpate heard against her chest. With suspicion and fear seeming to corrupt her judgment, Laurie hastened her gait and stood in front of a door on the left side of the hallway. Jiggling the doorknob with both hands, the girl found it opened. Within seconds she was inside of the room.

Every breath rattled out of her chest. Laurie shut the door quickly and leaned back against the dark wood, slowly sliding down to the floor. This was absolutely pathetic. She was a ninja and should not be so cautious in a situation like this. So there seemed to be odd noises coming from somewhere, so what? Lloyd probably would not have hesitated to engage in combat so why should she be so careful? "I have no more confidence" she barely whispered, answering her own thoughts.

This was the truth, the girl did not feel as confident as she used to. Her escape plan had utterly failed and being trapped aboard the Bounty had not helped. Laurie had even thought that the others had not noticed her absence, leaving her hopeless. No, they just thought she was back with them, that was all. She was still the same girl she had always been, the one who had saved her brother back in Ouroboros; the same Laurie that had been training to master her powers and Spinjitzu. No, Pythor and Belinda could not shake her. She could do anything she put her mind to.

A familiar sound broke her thoughts and Laurie froze. There were footsteps in the hallway.

That was what she had been hearing, footsteps. Not only was she traversing the corridors, but someone else was too. Tightening the grip on her weapon, Laurie stood. The approaching footfall was becoming louder and closer. Either they would pass or they would find her. Why wait for the chance to have them find her? The orange ninja narrowed her eyes and flung open the door, practically jumping into the hallway. She was about to bring her bō staff around in a low arc when she saw who was standing in front of her.

"Where did you come from?" asked Cole, slightly startled by the sudden appearance of his teammate. His dark amber eyes were wide and he held his scythe with both hands. "I thought you were with Lloyd. We were coming to find you guys." Black hair fell into his face and the ninja gave a slight frown.

With an audible sigh, Laurie lowered her weapon and watched as Cole did the same. "Sorry" she apologized quickly, "I didn't mean to scare you. Lloyd and I split up so we could try and find you faster". Her gaze fell past her team leader, finding nothing but the sprawling hallway. "Where is everyone else?"

"We kind of split up too" Cole answered, "figured we would find you guys faster that way." The black ninja gave a small smile while brushing the hair out of his face. "I guess we all had the same idea. Well we should probably try and find everyone else now."

"Good idea" replied Laurie, turning on her heel and continuing down the hallway. Cole followed close behind, his scythe poised and ready to strike.

* * *

Everything was so quiet. Lloyd was practically tip-toeing down every wooden corridor, trying to avoid attracting any attention. He had seen a few Hypnobrai and Fangpyre on his journey, going to check out the explosion he had caused, but the green ninja had managed to find some open doors to hide behind. As far as he knew, his presence had not been detected.

A large door lay ahead of Lloyd, the glinting steel extremely familiar. This was the control room he had been looking for when Belinda was chasing him. At least he knew where to come for weapons now in case he needed them. His gloved hand grabbed the knob and turned it slowly. The door yielded and the green ninja stepped inside of the room. To his surprise, it was full of people; people that he immediately recognized.

The ninja and Nya sat in the middle of the room, their backs against one another. They were gagged and bound together with a large, thick rope. Lloyd's emerald eyes widened and his gaze fell upon the pile of weapons in the corner of the room. There seemed to be one missing though: Cole's scythe. Frantically, the boy knelt down next to Jay, the closest to him, and yanked the gag from his mouth.

"What's going on?" Lloyd asked, utterly flabbergasted.

The blue ninja did not have time to answer. Another voice spoke instead, right behind the green ninja. "Isn't it obvious? They were caught."

Pythor grabbed Lloyd from behind, holding his wrists behind his back. The young boy fought against the serpent, but to no avail. "Pythor" he yelled, struggling to free himself. "You can't win even if you think you can. You don't have all of us".

"My dear boy" the Anacondrai chuckled, "why don't you look up at that monitor? It shows some of the security cameras we have on board."

Lloyd rested his eyes on the large computer that took up most of the wall opposite him. He could see his sister, making her way down one of the hallways with Cole in tow. Wait, she was with Cole? The green ninja turned towards his friends and saw the black ninja narrow his eyes and shake his head back and forth. Lloyd turned his attention back towards the duo on the monitor and a sudden realization came over him.

Laurie was not traveling with Cole. She was traveling with Belinda.

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**Hope you enjoyed it, but I've got to run because I'm at my parabatai's house right now. Thanks for being patient through my unexpected, slight hiatus. :)**


	17. Traveling with the Enemy

**I am updating super quick this morning. Was up late last night writing this and I hope everything turned out okay. Please enjoy. :)**

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Chapter Seventeen: Traveling with the Enemy

"I feel like we've been walking around in circles" Laurie sighed, taking yet another turn in the labyrinth of corridors. She and Cole had been traveling together for almost an hour now and they had yet to run into any of the other ninja. It seemed impossible that the Bounty was actually this big. A door on the right side of the hallway was slightly ajar and Laurie's eyes widened. She turned to Cole, who was walking on her left, and gave a puzzled look. "We've past here before, I'm sure of it."

The black ninja raised a single eyebrow and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Are you sure?" he asked, looking past Laurie now. "There are a lot of doors on the ship. We may not have been here before."

Frustrated, Laurie shrugged her friend's hand off of her shoulder and moved towards the door, slowly pushing it open. The room was empty, a thick layer of dust seemingly covering the walls and ground. On the floor in front of her was a spot where the dust had been disturbed, where she had sunk to the floor only an hour prior. "I'm positive we've been here before. This was the room I was in before I jumped out at you".

"Sorry about that" Cole apologized, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck with his left hand. "I guess I'm just a little lost…"

Laurie could understand that. The interior of the vessel did seem to be larger than she had originally anticipated. She was probably just about as lost as Cole was. Laurie stopped to think for a second. She recalled Lloyd telling her about the Bounty shortly after she began her training. It used to belong to them before the Great Devourer destroyed it. Then their father had somehow rebuilt it. Cole should know where he was going, should he not?

A creeping suspicion overcame the orange ninja and she glanced over at her team leader. He gave a warm smile and crossed his arms over his chest. "We should probably keep moving though. We still need to try and find the others." Laurie looked away quickly, her eyes widening. There was no way this person could be Cole. Her heart beat quickened and a cold seemed to grip at the girl's body. This was Belinda.

"Is everything okay?" the black ninja asked, his eyebrows knit together.

What was she supposed to do? Laurie turned back towards Cole and gave a small smile. "I'm sorry for being so absent minded. I'm just trying to figure out where we should look next" she answered confidently. The orange ninja had a feeling that the others were in danger. She had yet to see any trace of them so far during the search. Maybe Lloyd had found them and escaped the ship. If that were the case though, he would have continued the search for her. There was no way her brother would have left without her.

There was the matter of Cole's scythe as well. How did Belinda get it? Why could she even change to look like different people? Perhaps that was not even her leader's scythe. Belinda could have procured any old scythe, right? A voice in the Laurie's mind told her differently. No, that _had_ to be Cole's scythe. She could just feel it. The orange ninja had to find Lloyd and the others, but she could not allow Belinda to discern her true thoughts. It was imperative that Laurie act as the goddess was truly Cole.

"Let's go this way" the red-head suggested, somewhat sprinting down the corridor and making a sharp left turn. She could hear Belinda following behind, footsteps loud on the wooden floor. Laurie did not know where she was going still, but if only she could find a landmark or something to indicate she was going in the direction she wished to go…

A large pile of rubble lay ahead and the orange ninja stopped suddenly. This was where she and Lloyd had initially split up. Perfect, the girl was heading down the right pathway. She could hear Belinda stop behind her. Laurie felt her muscles tense and her aching fingers grip her weapon tighter.

"What happened here?" Cole asked, completely in shock. His eyes scanned the area feverishly. "Something blow up?"

"You could say that" Laurie replied, turning her head slightly. Belinda was holding the scythe now in both hands. The glinting metal blade showed the orange ninja her reflection. She looked somewhat frail and weak; probably an easy target for Belinda. There was no way Laurie was going to give her any more satisfaction. She was tired of being used and tricked. "Lloyd was battling Belinda here earlier. This is where we were before we split up. Why don't we go check down this way since we can't seem to find anything on the other side of the ship".

Cole's eyes narrowed slightly. If Laurie was not so suspicious this probably would have meant nothing to her. "If this is where you and Lloyd went your separate ways wouldn't he have gone to search that area? We should probably stick to the other side of the Bounty." Just like Laurie thought: Belinda was trying to keep her away from something. That excuse was not going to work.

"We've been looking for everyone else for so long and have found no one. If we go this way we'll at least run into Lloyd, right? That would be one more pair of eyes helping us." Laurie watched as Cole shrugged his shoulders and conceded defeat. Perfect, she was going to get to the bottom of what was happening. "Alright then, lead the way."

The black ninja strode forward, making his way past the gaping hole in the wall on his left. "Just follow me closely, alright?" he asked.

"Alright" the orange ninja called out, leaving a four foot gap in between herself and the goddess. If Belinda decided to turn around and use the scythe there was no way she would be able to reach Laurie. Everything seemed to be falling into place.

This path seemed to be more dangerous. The two ninja saw several Serpentine as they passed through the corridors. They currently stood at the intersection of two hallways, peeking around the corner. A pair of Venomari stood outside of a large steel door, conversing quietly. Laurie sneaked a glance over at Belinda and watched as she listened intently. The orange ninja could not tell what was being said, but she knew that something important was behind that door if it was being guarded. "Let's go take them out" she smiled.

"Are you crazy?" Cole inquired, practically hissing through his clenched teeth. "Since when are you so impulsive, Laurie? That's supposed to be Kai's thing." He took in a deep breath and pushed the girl away from the corner. "I think we should just by pass this and keep going."

There was no way that Laurie was going to let Belinda sway her from taking a look inside of the room. She leapt into the hallway and ignored the protests from the goddess. The two Venomari were surprised to see the girl rushing them so suddenly. One of them stood absolutely still, looking back and forth quickly. The other stood ready and spit a stream of venom at Laurie.

Her pajama pants came in handy for the first time ever. Laurie slid across the floor, effectively dodging the hallucinatory venom, and used her bō staff to sweep the serpents off of their feet. Both fell to the floor hard and the orange ninja delivered a swift punch to each of their faces. The adrenaline coursing through her veins felt amazing. She had not fought like this in a long time. "Coast is clear" Laurie whispered, motioning for Belinda to come forward.

Cole slid his left hand across his face, obviously frustrated with the orange ninja. "You could have gotten caught you know!" he plainly stated. Laurie watched as his dark amber eyes examined the steel door. Both of their reflections were warped by the dingy metal. "I don't think we should go in there. Looks like an important room. Pythor or Belinda could be in there. We need to get you off of this ship as soon as possible."

A sudden muffled shout erupted from within the room. That settled it. Something important was in there and it sounded like it could possibly be her friends. "I'm going in there" Laurie spit, turning away from Belinda and placing her right hand on the knob. It was extremely cold and the girl gave a shiver. A rough hand grabbed her shoulder.

"You're not going in there, Laurie" Cole narrowed his eyes and his voice sounded like steel. "That's an order".

Laurie kicked backwards and heard Belinda give a grunt of pain. Free from the grip of the goddess, the orange ninja thrust open the door and ran into the room. Diodes and computers surrounded her. The girl felt extremely disoriented by the sheer amount of technology, but her ice blue eyes rested on her friends in front of her. "Oh my gosh" Laurie breathed, kneeling down next to the group.

The knot that bound everyone together lay between Lloyd and Jay. She quickly went to work, trying to undo it. The rough material of the rope was murder on her fingers, her pale skin quickly becoming bright red. By the time she had finally finished the task, Laurie could not feel anything. Each finger was completely numb.

Lloyd stood quickly and ripped the gag from his mouth. "You found us!" he managed to say quickly. "I saw you standing in front of the door on the security monitor and I yelled for you. Guess you heard me."

"Let me just ask you something" started Cole, untying the unnecessary gag that Pythor had placed around Kai's mouth. "You really didn't think that was me did you?"

Laurie gave her friend a playful smile. "Not a chance".

Jay ran to the corner of the room where their weapons lay. He grabbed his nunchuks and Zane's shurikens, flinging the twin pieces of metal at his friend who caught them quickly. "I don't want to ruin this wonderful reunion or anything" the blue ninja stressed, pulling the mask down over his face, "but we're still not out of the clear yet."

The orange ninja stood to see Belinda in the doorway, her indigo eyes full of pure hatred. She held Cole's scythe tightly, the blade poised just above her lavender colored hair. "No one makes a fool out of me" she hissed, lunging forward.

There was no time to react. Laurie's eyes widened as a burning sensation raced across her abdomen and she fell to her knees in pain.

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**Can't seem to move away from cliffhangers. I think I survive by writing them. XD**

**I'm curious as to your opinions on "Legends of Chima". You know, the new theme that is set to replace Ninjago. Cartoon Network had an advertisement for the television series immediately after the last episode of Ninjago on Wednesday. I'm not too sure about it, but I'm going to at least watch the show and give it a chance. Probably not going to buy the sets, but who knows.**

**Thanks for reading today's update. Have a nice day! :D**


	18. Final Stand

**Okay, so my mom and I finished the last three episodes of FMA: Brotherhood yesterday and there were some major fighting sequences at the end there. So I ended up writing this shortly after finishing the series and I was kind of in a fighting mood. Yeah, so prepare to read about a lot of fighting. XD**

**Oh, and one more thing concerning the weapon I gave Nya for this chapter. I know on some of the specific Ninjago wikis it says that Nya uses double daggers and stuff like that. In the episode "The Snake King" when Nya is Samurai X she uses this cool weapon that's kind of circular and when she throws it the weapon comes back to her. I decided to give her that instead of daggers or whatever and I discovered that a weapon called the "crescent moon knife" came the closest to what Nya's weapon looked like in the show. So yeah. :)**

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Chapter Eighteen: Final Stand

Laurie wrapped her arms around her stomach and gritted her teeth. She could feel the warmth of blood oozing from her newly acquired wound and her shoulders racked with silent sobs. With a shaking hand, the orange ninja grabbed for her weapon which lay in front of her. Her right arm was stained a dull red from the crimson liquid that was quickly soaking through her t-shirt.

Belinda stood in front of the injured girl, breathing heavily. A smirk pulled at the edge of her lips, her eyes slightly glazed over with madness. "You can't defeat me" the goddess cackled, her grip on Cole's scythe intense. The knuckles of her olive skin were beginning to turn a light shade of blue. "I'll kill you all before you can have a chance to make it off of this ship."

There was a hard kick to her bare shin and Belinda turned her attention from the group to the young boy standing beside her. Lloyd's jaw was set, his eyes narrowed. He held his palms together and began spreading them apart, building up energy. The goddess closed her eyes and brought her weapon up in a high arc before quickly bringing it down. Instead of the screams she had anticipated to hear there was a clanking of metal against metal.

Zane had pushed Lloyd out of the way and had taken the blunt of the attack. The sleeve of his white gi was slightly torn, but there were no injuries. This was the benefit to being a robot. He stood to face Belinda, face devoid of any emotions. "You will not be killing any of us today" the nindroid stated, twirling the shurikens in his hands.

Belinda's lips quivered as they attempted to stretch into an even wider smile. She lunged at the white ninja, the blade of Cole's scythe swinging wildly back and forth. Zane managed to doge the continuous blows, but only barely. He brought up one of his shurikens and blocked the curved blade. A shudder ran down his metal arm from the impact and he kicked the goddess in the abdomen.

She did not yield, and managed to hook the end of the scythe around the shuriken Zane was using to block. With a flick of her wrist, Belinda managed to dislodge the weapon from the nindroid's grasp. She caught it with her left hand. "Check mate" she sneered, twirling the newly acquired shuriken around her index finger.

Nya knelt down next to Laurie, one hand on the girl's back and the other gripping her crescent moon knife. "Are you okay?" she asked tentatively, knowing what the answer would be.

Laurie had not moved since she had gotten a grip on her weapon. The orange ninja was shuddering and groaning. She looked to her right to see Kai's sister and attempted to give a reassuring smile. The gesture turned into a grimace as a wave of pain overwhelmed her body. Laurie fell on to her side, left arm still across her abdomen and right hand continuing to hold on to her bō staff. "I can't lie" the red head managed to say through clenched teeth, "I've been better."

The samurai stood slowly, her brown eyes focused on the cause of everyone's problems: Belinda. She was still twirling one of Zane's shurikens around her finger, arrogantly taunting the group. With a surge of anger, Nya took in a deep breath and threw her crescent moon knife at the goddess. It whipped through the air, slightly whistling as it made its journey.

Belinda watched the approaching weapon carefully with wide eyes. She ducked quickly, the knife sailing over her head, before bursting out into a deep chuckle. "My dear, I expected more from you".

"Don't be so overly confident" the dark haired girl smirked. Her weapon was extremely reliable, always coming through when she needed it the most. The crescent moon knife worked in the same way as a boomerang. Nya watched as the weapon turned around in the hallway, flying back towards the control room. Belinda would not know what hit her.

With a seemingly bored expression, the goddess raised Cole's scythe and lazily held it slightly behind her. The crescent moon knife struck the metal blade and fell to the wooden floor with a clatter. "I think I can afford to be overly confident" Belinda grinned maniacally. This almost seemed too easy. Almost all of the enemy's weapons were rendered useless.

"Lloyd, stop!" Jay called out.

Belinda turned her attention back towards the bumbling child, watching as he dove for her. She took a step backwards. The green ninja missed his target and slid across the wooden panels of the floor, his back making contact with a large operating system on the opposite side of the room. He groaned slightly, trying to sit up.

"Foolish child" the goddess laughed, her voice dripping with malice. "You cannot defeat me. _None_ of you can defeat me!"

Something hard hit her shoulder and Belinda's eyes widened. The blue ninja was engaging her in combat, his nunchuks swinging wildly. It was almost impossible to tell where he was going to strike next. Jay whipped the weapons behind his back and over his arms, pleased with the slight confusion he was presenting Belinda. "Now" he yelled, ducking quickly.

Zane threw his last shuriken and watched as it cut through the air quickly, like a knife. It buried itself into Belinda's right shoulder. The smile plastered upon her face widened further, sending a chill down the blue ninja's spine. Never had he seen someone fight like this, _act_ like this. The goddess was absolutely insane. Jay seemed frozen with fear as he stood, nunchuks dangling from his right hand.

"I'll take those too if you don't mind" Belinda hissed, using her damaged right arm to swing Cole's scythe forward. Jay grabbed the other handle of his weapon with his left hand, stretching the chain in between both handles as far as it could go. It acted like a small shield against the oncoming attack.

The pointed end of the blade caught between the links of the blue ninja's weapon. He pushed against Belinda's strength, trying to keep the scythe from harming him. Sweat beaded on his forehead and Jay placed his left foot slightly backwards to give him more leverage against the goddess. Her indigo eyes met his dark hazel ones and she lifted the scythe suddenly into the air.

The blade of the scythe was stuck in the chain of Jay's nunchuks and the blue ninja held on to his weapon tightly. Belinda used the momentum from the lift to send the scythe backwards, over her shoulder. Jay's nunchuks dislodged from their prison and the blue ninja sailed through the air, making contact with a wall. He slumped to the ground, motionless.

"Jay!" Nya cried, rushing to his side. She stroked his brunet hair with a shaking hand and watched as he opened his eyes slightly. The blue ninja let out a groan while Nya helped him sit up. "Jay, are you hurt?"

"My back is just a little sore" he coughed, pushing a smile. "It'll be fine though, don't worry about it." Jay gave a content sigh as Nya threw her arms around his neck. Then an unwelcome shadow caught his attention.

Belinda reached down with her left hand and grabbed the nunchuks off of the ground. "It seems I have acquired quite the collection of shiny new objects" the deity smiled, fangs visible. "Now, which one should I use to kill you?" She gazed thoughtfully at the nunchuks for a second. "As poetic as it would be to finish you with your own weapon, I believe this scythe will get the job done more efficiently." Belinda threw the nunchuks over her left shoulder and held the scythe horizontally. "Good bye" she laughed.

Her feet were taken out from under her and Belinda now gazed at the ceiling, the scythe still in her hands. Laurie stood over her, breathing labored and face contorted in pain. "Leave them alone" the orange ninja screamed, leaning on her bō staff. It was the only thing keeping her off of the ground right now. She was amazed she had had the strength to swing it without falling over.

Nya took this opportunity to help Jay to his feet. The blue ninja placed one arm around the samurai's shoulders and slowly walked over to the others. Cole had Kai on his back once more and felt extremely useless during the entire tussle. He was the leader; he should have been helping to fight. Zane had Lloyd thrown over one shoulder; the boy seemed too weak to travel of his own accord at the moment. The five conscious individuals just watched as Belinda lay sprawled on the ground.

"You are looking a little injured there, girl" the goddess spit, getting to her feet. She watched as Laurie seemingly lost her balance for a second, and adjusted the placement of her bō staff on the floor to keep herself from falling. Belinda smirked and dropped the scythe behind her, switching instead to her newly acquired nunchuks. "Are you sure you want to get yourself into a situation like this? There's no way you'll win."

Laurie's left hand flew back down to her abdomen as more pain gripped her inside. The shock and adrenaline from the initial blow was slowly wearing off and the orange ninja was feeling worse. She did not know how deep the wound ran, but she was certain it would leave a scar; a permanent reminder of this entire ordeal. "I can try" the red head smiled, shakily lifting her weapon from the floor.

"You're in no condition to fight, Laurie" Cole yelled. "We'll get off the Bounty and regroup. Let's just go!"

Laurie could not leave. Belinda would not leave her or her friends alone. No, they were her _family_. It was time to take a stand or die trying. "No, Cole" Laurie stated, her ice blue eyes locked on Belinda. "You guys get out of here and I'll hold her off. This is _my_ fight".

The black ninja was about to protest, object to this crazy notion, but Zane placed a gloved hand on his leader's shoulder. "Let her do this, Cole. If this is what she wishes to do, let us leave. I am sure she knows what she is doing."

"Fine" Cole sighed, his grip on Kai tightening. "Let's go". He watched as the others left the room, Nya helping Jay and Zane carrying Lloyd. Cole waited for a few seconds longer, lingered in the back of the room. "Just come back, Laurie" he called out, "for Kai's sake". With that, the team leader left the room.

Belinda narrowed her eyes and leapt forward, her gaze on the door frame. Laurie moved to block her path, biting her bottom lip in frustration. "You're not going anywhere" the orange ninja coughed. "You have to get through me first."

"Shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes" the goddess sneered, finally yanking the shuriken from her right shoulder. "Prepare to die, Laurie Garmadon."

* * *

**Yeah, expect even more fighting in the next chapter. XD Thanks for reading and reviewing and everything! :D**

**Hope you liked this and a question: how do you think the ninja are going to help Kai come out of his coma?**


	19. Dealings in Chaos

**I really like the way this chapter came out. :)**

**I was at EPCOT last night with my dad for dinner and I saw Neal Patrick Harris! I don't know if that's cool to any of you guys or not, but I was flipping out! I was like "Oh my goodness there is a celebrity standing about 20 feet away from me..."**

* * *

Chapter Nineteen: Dealings in Chaos

Zane's shuriken struck Laurie's bō staff with deadly accuracy. It split the wood slightly down the grain, about six inches from the end closest to Laurie's head. Grunting, the orange ninja tried to pull the weapon out, but she only managed to slice the skin in between her thumb and index finger. Forget paper cuts, a shuriken cut felt worse. Pursing her lips together, Laurie decided to leave the shuriken embedded in her weapon. Perhaps it could give her an edge in the battle. She would need an edge if she wanted to win.

Belinda laughed, stepping forward slowly. The goddess watched as Laurie rubbed her forehead with the back of her left hand. "Did you hurt yourself, girl?" she cackled, holding the nunchuks in both of her hands. "If you injure yourself anymore you could bleed out."

As if Belinda's words had a direct effect on her, Laurie felt dizzy. The material of her t-shirt near her abdominal wound was plastered to her skin, wet and sticky. If the shirt was not red, the girl probably would have fainted from just the sight of all the blood she was losing. Thankfully, the color masked it well.

The goddess continued to approach, placing one bare foot in front of the other. Why was she taking so long? Laurie clenched her teeth once more as pain consumed her. Against her will, the girl's left leg gave out and she knelt on the floor. She needed to get up and fight. Using the bō staff to support all of her weight, Laurie managed to get back on her feet. The end of the nunchuks made contact with the orange ninja's left shoulder and she stumbled backwards.

"Keep your focus or else you're going to die quicker than I want you to" Belinda hissed. She appeared to put no effort into the fight, spinning Jay's weapon lazily with her left hand. It took Laurie a few seconds to get her balance back, but Belinda snapped the weapon yet again. This time she aimed directly for the girl's weak spot.

Laurie could not help it. She screamed when the nunchuks made contact with her stomach, falling down onto the floor. The blood was flowing more heavily than before and salty tears poured from Laurie's eyes. She pulled her legs up to her chest, trying to make herself as small as possible, but it only managed to make the pain worse. Laurie felt nauseous as she straightened her body out, staring up at the ceiling. If this was not what dying felt like, than she wished she never had to discover _that_ pain.

A swift kick to her side brought the orange ninja back to the situation at hand. Laurie coughed hard, her right hand flying up to her mouth. With disdain she watched as small spots of blood dotted her pale skin. She must be bleeding internally, which would mean that her abdominal wound was deeper than she would have liked. The orange ninja glanced up at Belinda with swollen eyes. "I'm still not done" she said weakly, attempting to sit up. Every nerve in her body was screaming, pleading for her to stay down.

"I think you're quite done" the goddess sighed, lightly placing her bare foot over the crimson stain on Laurie's shirt. She watched the water spill from the girl's ice blue eyes and gave a small laugh. "You don't have to play the hero, Laurie. There's no way you could have saved your friends. You will die for nothing."

Footsteps were quickly approaching the room and Laurie's head fell to the right, looking to see who was coming. Her vision was blurred, but she was able to make out a man sprinting down the hallway, his red eyes angry. "Father…" she whispered, trying to wipe the tears from her face. She only managed to mix the drying blood on her hands with the tears.

"Belinda" Lord Garmadon yelled, his eyes narrowed, "what is the meaning of this?" The man knelt down next to his daughter and stroked her hair softly. "Everything is going to be okay, Laurie. I promise you that much." He directed his focus towards the goddess. "Do you care to explain what is happening here?"

Rolling her eyes, Belinda froze Garmadon on the spot. "I don't feel like answering that question. I never _did_ answer to you." She reached down and grabbed Laurie by the neck, smiling as the girl tried to fight back. "I think we should finish this in a more private place, don't you?" the deity laughed, before disappearing from the room, the orange ninja in tow.

* * *

Laurie had not realized she had closed her eyes. She opened them slowly to see that she was lying down in the crow's nest of the ship. The sky above her swirled continuously, the normal blue replaced with a sickening red color. Pink clouds floated by in thin shapes, wrapping around one another. "What's going on?" the orange ninja asked slowly, attempting to sit up. The pain in her abdomen was intense, but she ignored it.

"I'm causing chaos" a voice stated plainly. Laurie tried to turn around to see Belinda, but she could not. Pain engulfed every fiber of her being, every muscle in her body. She felt the goddess grab the back of her shirt and lift her upwards. "Beautiful, isn't it? I haven't seen Ninjago look like this in such a long time."

A harsh wind blew across the desert and Laurie tensed up. She gazed down at the deck of the Bounty and watched as a seemingly endless stream of Serpentine hopped over the sides of the vessel and run towards a single target. That was when she noticed that the target was the ninja. "Oh no" Laurie breathed, a sudden surge of energy coursing through her body. She could see Zane, Jay, and Cole attempting to protect Kai. Lloyd was being detained by a Hypnobrai and Nya was on her way to aid him. Even though she had stayed behind to try and protect them, Laurie had failed.

Belinda dropped the girl and gave her a hard pat on the shoulder. "Don't feel too bad about yourself, Laurie" she hissed. "There was no way you could have saved anyone anyways. Even if you had left with your friends you would have just run into the reinforcements out here." Laurie tensed up as the goddess knelt down behind her and put a mouth to her right ear. "It's just a shame you decided to face me alone. Now you will die alone".

The orange ninja looked around for her bō staff, but quickly discovered that it was not here. She stood slowly, only to have Belinda shove her hard. Laurie caught herself on the thin railing that surrounded the crow's nest and let out a breath. She turned around quickly, her red hair blowing across her face and obscuring her view of the goddess. "I won't die here" Laurie shouted, trying to make her voice audible over the noise of the wind and the fighting below.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that". Belinda grabbed Laurie's shoulders tightly, feeling her nails barely pierce the girl's flesh, and pushed her backwards.

Laurie could not see what was happening, but the feeling of falling was obvious. She attempted to get a hold of anything she could. The feeling of rough wood against her palms was both painful and reassuring. Laurie jerked her head to the left and was thankful that the wind was able to blow the hair out of her face. She had just managed to hold onto the same railing that had saved her only seconds before.

Belinda was leaning on her elbows, yawning. "Surely you're not still trying to live" she scoffed, tossing her lavender hair over her right shoulder. The goddess slid her hands over top of Laurie's and slowly began to push them off of the railing. Laurie's face contorted in pain as the mixture of her scrapped up hands and gash overwhelmed her. "You won't be in pain much longer, dear" Belinda reassured.

"Wait" Laurie said suddenly, her eyes locked with Belinda's. "Tell me there isn't something you want."

The goddess gave wicked grin. "Of course there's something I want. I want to watch you die."

"No" Laurie continued, her mind grasping for something, _anything_ that would pique Belinda's interest. The goddess was sadistic and merciless. Laurie remembered back to when she had first been kidnapped. Belinda had threatened to kill Kai and seemed overjoyed when the orange ninja decided to suffer in silence for his sake. Suffering was the answer. "Wouldn't you rather see me suffer for eternity than kill me quickly?" the red head tried, desperately clinging to the railing.

Suffer for an eternity? Belinda could not help but want to listen to the offer Laurie was making her. It was true, why end something quickly when you could drag it on for the longest time? "I'm listening" she answered, her smile unwavering.

"I could give you something that belongs to me, something that I would never want to live without" Laurie cried, tears beginning to flow once more. She watched as Belinda bared her fangs and gave a chilling chuckle. "However" the orange ninja continued, ignoring the narrowed eyes that she now received, "you can only have what I offer if you heal Kai and return to the Underworld."

Go back to the Underworld? Belinda did not like this offer very much anymore. That place was a complete bore with nothing but Skulkin to converse with. Those bumbling skeletons could not keep their own bones together, yet alone provide the entertainment that the goddess so craved. The opportunity to make Laurie Garmadon suffer for an eternity though was still tempting. "What do you plan to give me for these conditions?" Belinda asked.

"Let me back up and I'll tell you" Laurie smirked. She watched as the frustrated deity seemed to have an internal battle with herself. Reluctantly, Belinda grabbed the orange ninja by the wrists and pulled her back into the crow's nest. Laurie tumbled forward, her back hitting the mast that ran through the center of the platform.

Belinda crouched down next to the injured girl. "You're safe now, girl. Do you care to tell me what it is you're willing to sacrifice for your Kai and my return to the Underworld?"

Laurie gestured for the deity to come closer and whispered something in her ear. Belinda stood up, unable to hide the large grin that spanned the entirety of her face. This was brilliant, much better than anything she could have come up with herself. Laurie Garmadon knew how to bargain and there was no way the goddess would pass up this opportunity. "I accept this exchange" she chuckled, holding her hand out.

With a few tears escaping and falling down her cheeks, Laurie knelt on the wooden floor and grasped Belinda's hand. A white light filled the air, concentrated on the crow's nest. Laurie's red hair was flying around her face wildly and she felt her grip on the goddess' hand slipping.

"Enjoy your life, Laurie Garmadon" Belinda hissed softly, her voice and form beginning to dissipate. "Or at least _try_ to enjoy it…"

Her vision was becoming blurry, the pain in her abdomen intensifying. The last thing Laurie saw before she passed out was the wicked grin of the woman who had ruined her life forever.

* * *

**So, our evil villain seems to be gone for good, but what could Laurie have sacrificed to save Kai?**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing and all that good stuff that you guys do. I appreciate it so much! :3**


	20. Darkness and Memories

**Okay, so I had my closing floor meeting yesterday and it's just really hitting me that my first semester of college is winding down and coming to a close. It doesn't feel like I've spent months away from home going to school, it just doesn't. College is really weird...**

**The beginning of this chapter is all from Kai's point of view, but what he was thinking about and doing while he was in the coma. It's kind of boring because there's no dialogue, but I enjoyed writing it.**

**Alright this chapter was kind of hard for me to write. Not just writer's block wise, but emotionally. I don't know, I get attached to these characters and I want nothing but the best for them. Be prepared to find out what Laurie gave up in order to set things right. :'(**

* * *

Chapter Twenty: Darkness and Memories

The darkness was all consuming and it had been that way forever. No, he could remember a time when he lived in the light. The faces of his friends and sister were still prominent in his mind. A reminder of happier times, times when he could see what surrounded him. This was not living. This was purgatory.

It had to be, drifting aimlessly in the dark unable to do anything. How had he been reduced to this? He was nothing but consciousness trapped within itself. He could not remember. All of his senses were gone, damaged or lost somehow. There were sometimes though when he almost thought he could hear something; a voice that seemed to penetrate the darkness. It made him realize that this was wrong. He was not meant to be here by himself.

There was somewhere else he had to be, but where? He could not remember; it was becoming increasingly difficult to remember. Even the faces of his friends were now beginning to fade. They were his friends, right? Colors blended together: black, blue, white, green, red, and orange.

Orange, that color seemed to stand out among the others, but why? It reminded him of that voice he sometimes heard, the slight warmth he felt when it surrounded him. Orange. The color had recently become a part of his life, still new to him. What did it mean?

Then he was engulfed by a blinding white light.

What was happening? It almost made him cringe, want to crawl back into the palpable darkness that had become part of his life. Almost. Light, he had not seen it in such a long time, but why did it have to be this intense? It felt as if a weight was being lifted off of him, something that had been keeping him in this depressing place.

Voices floated on the slight breeze. Wait, he could hear now? These were sounds other than just that one voice. Not only that, but he could feel the wind against his skin and smell the burnt ozone that always seemed to accompany lightning. Lightning? That meant something to him. The color blue wafted through his mind.

Jay, Cole, Zane, Lloyd, Nya, Sensei, and Laurie. He remembered! These were his friends, his family. He was a ninja, the ninja of fire. He recognized the voices now as his teammates and brothers. The voice that had kept him grounded was not there though.

Laurie, that was her name. He missed her, wanted to see her. The white light disappeared as suddenly as it appeared. He had made up his mind and decided to leave this place. It was time to see his family once more.

* * *

Kai blinked slowly, seeing the sun for the first time in days. It was shining bright, but not as intense as the light he had seen in the darkness. That was different. Never had he seen anything like that before. He was moving quickly, but not of his own accord. Familiar black hair lay directly in front of him. The red ninja gazed to look at the ground. It was actually sand, flying by quickly.

"Cole, where are we?" Kai finally decided to ask. The sudden jolt of stopping jarred the red ninja's head. "Ouch" he complained, taking his right hand and rubbing the back of his skull. "You could warn a guy before you did something like that!"

The black ninja dropped Kai into the steaming sand that lay below them. "K-Kai?" he stuttered, surprised to hear him speak. He spun around quickly to see his friend sprawled on the ground. Kai did not seem happy and he blew a strand of brunet hair out of his face. Cole knelt down next to the red ninja and extended a hand. "Sorry about that, pal" the leader apologized. "You scared me."

He was extremely confused. Zane and Jay stood behind Cole, their eyes wide. Why did everyone look like they had just seen a ghost? "I _scared_ you?" Kai inquired, grabbing his friend's hand and using the leverage to pull himself into a sitting position. He felt somewhat weak, like he had not moved around in days. "This is ridiculous, guys. Why are you all looking at me like that?"

Zane was the first one to speak. "It is because you have been in a coma for quite some time" the nindroid answered. "Three days to be exact."

A coma? Kai's shoulders slumped as he racked his brain, tried to remember. It explained the darkness that had surrounded him for so long. Only three days though? The red ninja could have sworn he was suspended in that alternate universe for an eternity.

Suddenly a memory raced through his mind. It was Laurie, fighting him back in the apartment, a wide grin spread across her face. No, it had not been her. That was Belinda. She had bitten him. He remembered the burning, the fire inside of him and then absolutely nothing. The venom that had coursed through his veins had placed him in the comatose state. "Where's Belinda?" he growled suddenly, getting to his feet.

"Calm down, Kai" Jay stated, crossing his arms over his chest. "We don't know where she is, okay? The last we saw she was fighting Laurie and…"

The red ninja's dark brown eyes widened. They had let Laurie fight that monster by herself. His brothers had decided to allow the girl he cared for to fend off the crazed woman. "You let Laurie fight Belinda on her own and you just left her?" Kai demanded, anger coursing through his body.

Cole placed a gloved hand on his friend's shoulder, his face stern. "You don't understand, Kai" he stated plainly, feeling the red ninja's muscles tighten at his touch. "I wanted to leave the Bounty with everyone and regroup, but Laurie wouldn't hear of it. She wanted to face Belinda alone." The black ninja watched as Kai let out a breath and the emotion in his eyes turned to fear. "Laurie said that it was her fight."

"Where is she?" Kai asked suddenly. "Do you know where Laurie is right now?"

Jay gave his newly awakened friend a forlorn look. "No" he answered honestly, focusing on the trail his foot drew in the sand. "We were heading to where we last saw her when you woke up." There were shouts and cheers from somewhere behind. The blue ninja turned to see Nya who was being followed closely by Lloyd. She carried a motionless figure in her arms.

"Laurie" the red ninja breathed, unable to move. He tried to remember the last time he had seen her. It was the day Belinda had kidnapped her. Now she looked truly worse for wear.

He could see the bloodstain that had soaked through her t-shirt, clearly obvious. It must have been a truly awful wound. Her limp arms were stained a light shade of crimson and her hair was caked with dry blood. Laurie looked paler than he had ever seen her before, the freckles on her face painstakingly contrasted. What had happened to her?

"I found her on the deck of the ship" Nya explained quickly, kneeling down to lay the orange ninja on the sand. "She's not conscious, but she does have a pulse." Lloyd was quickly by his sister's side, tears in his emerald green eyes. Everyone watched as he sniffed slightly and rubbed away the liquid with the sleeve of his gi.

The samurai's gaze drifted to her brother and she gasped. "Kai, y-you're okay!" she cried, standing and leaping towards her sibling. They embraced and the red ninja felt Nya's body shake with heavy sobs. He patted her back slowly. It must have killed her, having to see him in a coma. Kai was glad to be back, happy to see that everyone was okay.

Everyone except Laurie.

His gaze drifted back to the girl he loved and Nya ended the hug. "I-is Laurie alright?" Kai barely whispered. He was not sure if he wanted to hear the answer. Laurie looked like she could be dead, but his sister had informed the group otherwise. "I mean, how did this happen?"

"We don't know" answered a shaky voice. The group turned towards Lloyd who was sitting on his knees. His light blonde hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat and the young boy continued to sniff incessantly. "I mean, I saw when Belinda cut her stomach, but she has cuts and scratches all over her hands and arms. There's just so much blood…" A few of his salty tears splashed on to the sand, drying up almost instantly.

Laurie stirred slightly, opening her eyes. "Lloyd?" she asked slowly, trying to raise a hand to his face. "You don't need to cry, alright? I'm here for you."

The green ninja's eyes widened and he grasped his sister's hand in between his own. "Laurie, you're awake!" He let an audible cry escape his lips before he attempted to give a smile. "Don't ever scare me like that again, okay?"

"I can't promise anything, especially out here in the Sea of Sand." The orange ninja noticed her brother's puzzled expression and she chuckled lightly. "We don't seem to have any luck out here, do we? Last time we were all out here you almost turned into a Serpentine and I almost died."

Cole walked over to Laurie, casting a shadow on the girl. She welcomed it, feeling relief from the hot sun. "What happened? Are you okay, Laurie? Where's Belinda?" the leader asked. He was deeply concerned, feeling that this was his fault. He should not have listened to Zane. No one should ever leave a teammate behind.

Laurie gave the black ninja a half smile, the right side of her lip curling up. "Calm down, Cole. I fought Belinda and she's gone back to the Underworld. We never have to deal with her ever again." Pain radiated from her abdomen and the girl sucked in a large breath. "I'm okay I guess" she continued through clenched teeth. "Probably should go see a doctor or something. Maybe have Uncle get me some weird tea that heals things."

"You appear to have lost a great amount of blood" commented Zane, worry plain on his face. "I concur with your first statement. You should be taken to a medical facility as quickly as possible."

The orange ninja sighed and tried to lift herself into a sitting position. "Thanks, Zane" she sighed. Laurie noticed Jay adjusting his gaze from both her and the Bounty. "Is everything alright, Jay?" she asked. "You seem really preoccupied."

"It's nothing" the blue ninja reassured the girl. "I was just curious as to how you defeated Belinda was all."

Laurie thought about it for a second. How _did_ she manage to defeat the goddess? She could not remember. There was a bargain being made, but she could not recall what she had decided to give Belinda in exchange for her return to the Underworld. If it had really been that important she would have remembered what it was, right? "Sorry, Jay, I don't remember how I stopped her."

Kai had finally found the strength to move. He rushed over to Laurie and knelt beside her. It had been so long since he had seen her. The red ninja pulled her into a tight embrace, ignoring the stickiness of the blood that seemed to coat Laurie all over. This was the girl he loved, the one he had been yearning for in the endless darkness.

"Laurie" he whispered, his breath catching slightly on her name. "I love you. I missed you so much. You kept me going when there was nothing. I couldn't remember much, but you were always there." The red ninja felt her head on his shoulder, her hair in his fingers. This was perfect, serene. He could spend forever like this, just being with Laurie. She was letting go now and he followed her cue, placing both hands on Laurie's shoulders once they broke apart.

The girl's ice blue eyes held a different kind of emotion than Kai had anticipated. Instead of relief or kindness they held fear. His face fell slightly as the smile that had been on her face disappeared. It was soon replaced by confusion, her brows furrowing. This scared Kai and he gripped Laurie's shoulders tighter, but released them when he felt her flinch. "What's wrong?" the red ninja asked, his voice soft and tender.

"I'm sorry, but who _are_ you?" the red head asked, scooting away from Kai to sit next to Lloyd.

Kai's stomach dropped and ice gripped his heart. It was almost like being consumed by the darkness all over again.

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**Yeah, probably not what you guys were expecting. It's actually probably worse than what you guys were expecting. I know when I told my mom (because she's reading this too) what Laurie was going to give up she was practically freaking out over the phone.**

**So if you're at all confused about specifically what Laurie gave up, it's all of her memories of Kai. She told Belinda she would give up something "she couldn't live without" so there you go. As much as I didn't know where this story was going, I knew that this had to be part of it. Thanks for reading and reviewing. Expect another two chapters out of this because it's not over yet. XD**


	21. Renewed Strength

**Random crazy update because I am still awake at 2:00AM and it's technically Thursday so it's the Thursday update! :D  
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**I am not even going to lie to you guys. I cried when I was writing this chapter. I was a bawling baby and actually had to stop halfway through and come back to it later.**

**Hopefully you don't cry, but if you do I hope they're happy tears or something like that. Please enjoy this chapter. :)**

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Chapter Twenty-One: Renewed Strength

A light wind blew softly across Ninjago Park, causing the few autumn leaves that clung to their branches to fall. Kai watched as they twirled around each other, locked in an invisible dance. Two leaves drifted away from their companions and gently glided over to the bench that the ninja resided on. One was a bright orange color, the waxy luster of the cuticle reflecting the fading sunlight. The other was a deep red, almost crimson hue.

They both landed on the seat beside Kai and he sighed. With a shaking hand he grabbed the red leaf and watched as it seemingly crumbled in his grip. It was fitting, the darker colored piece of dead vegetation reflected how the red ninja felt: extremely fragile. Kai felt a stronger gust whip through the park.

The yellowing grass rippled like the ocean and the orange leaf lost its hold on the wooden bench. It trembled terribly before being pushed away. With wide, light brown eyes, the red ninja reached for it, his fingers closing around nothing but the chilled air. Nature was such a tease.

Kai slumped down further into the bench, jamming his hands into the pockets of his red sweatshirt. He was exuberant that Laurie was physically okay. The physician that had seen her seemed pleasantly surprised. There had been no major, permanent damage to any of her internal organs. Despite this, her abdominal muscles had been ripped and torn terribly. They would heal in time, but a scar would always remain.

He had seen Laurie before he had left the apartment. She was wrapped in gauze and bandages all around her mid-section, wearing tank tops and other loose fitting shirts to try and alleviate pressure placed on the wound. That had been the only major injury. Once all of the dried blood was cleaned off, they had all seen that Laurie was adorned with small, superficial scratches; nothing serious at all.

Of course, in Kai's mind the orange ninja's abdominal wound was not even the most serious injury that she had walked away with. No, it was her tattered memory.

Why him? Why was he the only one that Laurie did not remember? They had each taken turns, striking up conversations with the girl and slipping in information about Kai. This would immediately throw her off track. The incident back in Ouroboros? Laurie recalled using the Fangpyre Staff to save Lloyd and almost suffocating. How was she saved from an almost inevitable death? She could not remember, only that she obviously had survived.

Kai let out another breath. It was almost as if he had been completely erased and that was absolutely frustrating. Of course the guys had tried to put a positive spin on the situation. Both Jay and Cole were saying that this was a good thing, an opportunity to restart the relationship without any problems. He and Laurie had not met on good terms after all.

It was not too long ago, but Kai remembered perfectly. Everything about the girl had infuriated him. She was a spy, a traitor, yet she was so sweet and absolutely determined to set things right after she had messed them up. Kai's thoughts drifted back to the night he and Laurie had shared in the desert, right before Skales had found them. Laurie had never gotten to hear those words. How sorry he had been for the way he had initially treated her and that he could sometimes be a jerk, jumping to conclusions much too quickly. Now he could tell them to her, but she would not understand.

Zane seemed to side with Kai and Lloyd on the issue. Of course, the nindroid was just concerned about Laurie's memories in general and not how they affected Kai. Lloyd was extremely upset that the blue and black ninja would even suggest that this was for the better. He had argued that no matter what this was his sister and something was obviously wrong with her. Kai felt the same way, only he had been more distant and far away since that day in the Sea of Sands.

_"I'm sorry, but who _are_ you?"_

Those words, strung together in the same sentence, haunted Kai. It had only been about two weeks since that awful day, but it might as well have been forever. The darkness he had been dwelling in was nothing compared to this shattered world he lived in now. Occasionally he wondered if it would have been bad if he had never awoken from his comatose state. Then he would have never had to experience this heartbreak, this loneliness.

"Hey" came a small voice, interrupting Kai's thoughts.

Slightly angered by the fact that someone had followed him here, the red ninja gave a sigh. The guys knew that he just wanted to be alone right now, have time to just think and be alone. Kai turned his upper body around, resting his right arm on the back of the bench. His eyes locked with the last person he expected to see.

Laurie stood awkwardly in the dying grass, leaning on a set of crutches. This helped her move around easier when she needed to. Of course, she should not have been out of the apartment in the first place. "Do you mind if I sit with you?" she asked slowly, her eyes moving to look at the ground instead of the red ninja.

"No, go ahead" Kai replied, almost breathless. He slid across the polished wood to the end, making more room for the girl. Laurie hobbled over before slowly lowering herself down to sit on the bench. She leaned the crutches against the back of the bench and placed her hands in her lap.

Kai just stared at her for a second. She must have been absolutely freezing. Thin, black sweatpants adorned her from the waist down, paired with warm brown boots. Above that however, she only wore an orange tank top. He could see the bandages visible through the material, condensed and bulky. Bright red hair poured down over her shoulders like a waterfall. Without thinking, the red ninja removed his sweatshirt and placed it around the front of Laurie, draping the arms behind her back to keep it steady.

"Thanks" Laurie said softly, gripping the material of the sweatshirt from underneath. It was warm and made her realize how cold she had been. Winter was quickly approaching after all. "You come out here a lot" she continued, her ice blue eyes meeting Kai's light brown ones for a second. Then she looked away quickly, blushing slightly.

The red ninja noticed that Laurie had a difficult time ever keeping eye contact with him. It was quite tiresome because she had never done that before. Well, when she still remembered. "Yeah" he replied, leaning back against the metal armrest. "I like to come here and just think sometimes. It's getting colder out and there aren't as many people out here this time of year. Plus I don't always have to see…" He trailed off before completing his sentence. Kai noticed that Laurie looked slightly hurt.

"You were going to say that you don't always have to see me, weren't you?" she asked with a sniff, her eyes glistening with a layer of fresh tears. "I know it's hard for you to be around me. The guys keep telling me that we used to be a couple, but I just don't remember that." Laurie looked up, awkwardly staring Kai straight in the eyes. "I've tried to leave, believe me. You don't want me here and I can feel that, but the others won't let me leave."

This was truly awful. As much as it pained Kai to know that the girl he loved remembered nothing of him, it made him feel even worse to know that she had tried to leave for his sake. "Laurie, please don't cry" he breathed, lightly touching the girl on the shoulder. "I've been selfish and I can be a real jerk sometimes. Don't ever think that I want you to leave because I don't. I would feel even worse if you weren't here with me. Even if you don't remember me, remember us, _I _still do. I still love you."

Suddenly, Laurie leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Kai's neck. The red sweatshirt fell off of her and into Kai's lap. He half expected her to begin sobbing, something he could not deal with at this moment in time. If she completely lost it then so would he. This did not happen though, instead he felt her heartbeat next to his and it drudged up every memory he seemed to have of her. Kai placed his arms around the girl's waist, being careful not to disrupt any of her bandages.

"It makes sense that I would have fallen for someone like you" the girl said, her voice muffled by Kai's shoulder.

He let the silence continue on a little longer, just enjoying this moment right now. Of course, he _was_ curious as to what Laurie meant by her statement. "What do you mean by that?" he inquired, breaking the embrace to look at the girl's face. It was streaked with tears. So she _had_ been crying.

"You're just so darn cute" Laurie half cried, half chuckled. She used the back of her right hand to wipe away the liquid from her eyes. Kai picked up the sweatshirt from his lap and used one of the sleeves to help her with this process. Laurie looked at his eyes for a second and then averted her gaze once more, blushing. If she had truly been the partner to this mystery guy, than why did she feel all nervous inside whenever he looked at her? It was almost like having your crush around twenty-four seven.

Kai stood up and grabbed the crutches from their resting place. He offered them to the orange ninja. "We should probably be heading back to the apartment now" he stated, throwing the sweatshirt back over Laurie's shoulders. She stood shakily and he helped her get her footing before she set up the crutches.

"Thanks, again" the girl smiled slightly, beginning her hobble across the grass.

A light wind blew softly across Ninjago Park, ruffling the brunet hair of a certain red ninja. He smiled, following the girl he loved slowly across the dying vegetation. A bright orange leaf could not stop moving and it plastered against Kai's dark red long sleeved shirt. He picked it up with a shaking hand and was relieved when it did not crumble. Maybe some things in life were not as fragile as they initially appeared to be. Sometimes strength could be found in the most unlikely of places.

Today Kai had found strength in the very thing that had shattered his world.

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**I don't think I can even re-read this without crying. XD**

**So kind of like Shifting Winds, this is the official end of this story. Of course we're going to need a mysterious epilogue that introduces a mysterious character that will play a major role in my final book. So though this is the end it is not the end so please came back and read my epilogue when I upload it, okay? :D**

**So I have a new poll on my profile that you can check out if you want to. Just getting some opinions on something. But I propose a question to you readers? Would you find it interesting if I posted some of the chapters from this fic as they were originally created? The story line was much different when I began writing this over the summer and I kept the original document so I could see how much everything had changed. Would any of you be interested in some never before seen bonus content? XD  
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**Thanks for reading and everything! What was your favorite part of ****_this_**** story? :3**


	22. Epilogue

**Alright here is my epilogue! Meet Rhea, my new OC, and learn a little bit about her past and the role she will play in my final story...**

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Epilogue

A young girl stood against a dying tree, her back resting up against the trunk. They looked so broken and frail, the couple that had just walked across the park. Were they even a couple? The boy walked behind the girl, not next to her. She could remember her father always walking next to her mother. His hand on her shoulder. His hand on her waist. Their fingers intertwined within one another. Dad had never let Mom walk alone, not even in the very end.

Perhaps they were not together. The blue-haired girl gave a frown. Well, this was not a change of pace for her. She had never smiled, not since the day she had lost everything; everything she had ever loved and cared about. No, they were not lost. They had been _taken_ from her. With thin fingers, the young girl touched the slightly raised mark that lay on the outside of her right eye. It was a small star, as black as coal; a permanent reminder of that awful day and her current life.

_I can raise you! _That was what the voice had told her after she had stopped crying. _I've always wanted a child…_

That was seven years ago and she still loathed her "father's" very existence. What could she do though, try to overthrow him? Yeah, like that had never crossed her mind before. Fear held her back, the fear of what he would do to her if she tried. He had already caused her so much pain and turmoil; more than anyone should ever have to endure in a single lifetime.

She was only twelve.

A tear fell from one of the girl's dark brown eyes and she wiped it away defiantly. Emotions, they got her nowhere and fast. The stranger on the crutches reminded her of her mother. It might have been the way she looked at that boy. Her mother had always held a sparkle in her eyes when she gazed at her father.

Suddenly, a harsh wind blew across the empty park and the girl held her light purple windbreaker tightly around her. The seasons were changing, winter steadily approaching. She liked winter. It seemed to match what she was feeling inside: a cold and lonely existence.

The sky grew grey quickly and the young girl flinched. He was coming here? She did not think that he _could_ come here. Looking around slowly, the girl sprinted towards the heart of Ninjago City. Buildings were flying past and bystanders gawked. She was used to this though, for she did not look like most of the natives here.

Her blue hair was natural, a fact that many individuals did not believe. It was long and came down just past her waist. She had not cut it, not since that day seven years ago. It was almost as if she was afraid: if she cut her hair would she forget them, her parents? Well, she did cut her bangs when they became too long and inhibited her ability to see. A sharpened knife or a serrated arrowhead would always do the trick. She found an alleyway and ducked into it.

_Rhea, why are you trying to run_ a disembodied voice hissed inside her head. It was not angry, she could tell, but his voice always sounded like this. Her "father" was not someone that many people would appreciate. He took some getting used to.

The girl, Rhea, took in a deep breath and swallowed hard. Fear gripped her heart and she backed up into a metal dumpster. A cat yowled and scared the girl further. Rhea scanned the alley with her big, brown eyes. He did not seem to be here, so why was the sky so dark?

Then he spoke again. _I will not come retrieve you if you do not complete your mission. It is extremely difficult for me to traverse the ocean and come to Ninjago. The journey would take away all of my strength and we would not want that now, would we?_

She did not care if her "father" died. He had killed her parents so why was he allowed to live? Rhea crossed her slightly tanned arms over her chest in defiance, stamping a sneakered foot on the dull concrete.

_Do not act so rebellious, Rhea_ the voice warned, a slight chuckle reverberating through the girl's mind. _I can always find a way to get you back if you try and hide from me. Though _I_ may not be able to come get you, I can always send Kozu to fetch you…_

Rhea swallowed hard once more, standing in the alley all alone. She looked utterly defeated and hopeless. Then again, she always felt that way. Patiently, the girl waited for her "father" to begin talking once more.

He gave another chuckle. _That's more like it. Now, I am assuming that you have not looked at it yet, but there is a picture of your target in your jacket pocket. Memorize the face and make sure that they are not left alive._ The voice dissipated and the sky turned back to the normal pink color of sunset.

Killing, this was her job now. Just as her parents had been murdered it was now her job to kill for a living. So was the life of an assassin. Rolling her eyes, Rhea shoved her hand into her right pocket and felt the paper crumple in her fingers. She took it out and smoothed the photo over the dumpster lid. Her eyes widened and she dropped the photo, watching as the wind now took possession of it. She had already seen the individual she was supposed to kill.

It was the red-headed stranger from the park that had reminded her so much of her mother.

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**Dun-dun-dun cliffhangers~**

**So who could Rhea's "father" be? I had to explain it to my mom yesterday because she was absolutely convinced that it was Garmadon. XD**

**Thanks for reading, reviewing, and just being a supporter for my crazy dreams turned books. :)**


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